England Test captain Joe Root is not bitter about his exclusion from this year’s IPL and believes his teammates playing in the tournament will hugely benefit from the experience.
Root went unsold in the auction but does not grudge several England players who are in India to showcase their talents. “They’ll benefit hugely from it and we, as a side, will benefit hugely from it. Look at the way Jos [Buttler] and Ben [Stokes] and a few guys came back from it last year and what it has brought to their games,” Root said.
Root also said controversial plans for a domestic 100-ball competition could attract a new audience to Test cricket. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s proposal to introduce a new format, tentatively titled “the Hundred”, with 15 regular six-ball overs and one 10-ball over, has proved divisive since an announcement last week but the England skipper is on board with the idea.
“It's going to appeal to a new audience and I think that's great,” he said.
