Legendary South African batsman AB de Villiers has expressed his disappointment over star England batsman Joe Root’s low scores during the ongoing Test series against India, saying the veteran player should be encouraged to play his natural, anchor-like game. England’s line-up. England is trailing 2-1 in the five-match Test series against India and the main reason for this is Root not being able to score big. In six matches so far, he has scored 77 runs at an average of 12.83, with his best score being 29. His poor shot selection, especially the reverse scoop shot, has been under the scrutiny of fans and former cricketers and experts alike. He failed to make an impact while chasing the target of 557 runs in the Rajkot Test and England lost by 434 runs.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers said that when he played against Root, he felt he was one of the best batsmen because it was difficult to get him out. But recently, everything has changed due to England’s ‘baseball’ approach focusing on playing aggressive, positive and result-oriented cricket.

“When I played against him (Root), I thought he was one of the best Test batsmen I have played against. But that has changed and it is because of the buzzball. I know that is a big statement. But what you get is, “The toughest guys to play in Test match cricket are the guys who are the toughest to get out,” De Villiers said. And now he is getting out on reverse sweeps and is playing out of his norm. I don’t like it.”

“Players like him (Root) need to be told, ‘Listen, you just go out and play your natural game. You are the glue of this batting line-up.’ He said, “Let Ben Duckett or Ben Stokes play aggressively. Let Root bat for a long time.

England batsman Joe Root faced criticism after being dismissed by a reverse scoop on the third day of the third Test against India after England’s defeat. Root attempted to reverse paddle a ball outside off-stump in Rajkot to India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah but missed and was caught at second slip, his latest batting flop in the series.

His departure on 18 opened the door for India, who started the day on the backfoot due to Ravichandran Ashwin suddenly leaving the match overnight to be with his ailing mother.

Cricketers and pundits said the former England captain – who scored more than 11,000 runs in 138 Test matches – had tried to fit into England’s aggressive “buzzball” brand of cricket.

A scathing article by Telegraph cricket writer Schilder Berry was headlined, “Joe Root’s latest buzzball shot is the stupidest in English Test cricket history.”

De Villiers said he likes what ‘Baseball’ represents, but players have to approach different situations in different ways and it is dangerous to play just one way in Tests. He urged England to bat normally in the upcoming matches and develop bigger partnerships so that they can get more positive results.

“I like what baseball represents, which is aggressive cricket, but what I have said is that I want players to face different situations and that is what Test cricket is all about. The way you are going to play in Test cricket is to prepare yourself for the situation. It is very important to determine which is dangerous,” de Villiers said.

De Villiers concluded, “England needed to bat normally to have a chance of a draw or chasing the target in the fourth innings. They needed a big partnership and needed to take charge of the situation, which unfortunately happened. Didn’t happen in that innings.” ,

with AFP input