England cricketer Joe Root opened up about his stint as the skipper of the English team. Following the defeat in Ashes and then against West Indies, Root stepped down as the captain of the England Test team.
All-rounder Ben Stokes took over the reign from the veteran England cricketer. His captaincy career got off to a winning start, as Root slammed a match-winning hundred against New Zealand. He remained unbeaten on 115 runs to lead England to a five-wicket win.
Post-match, Joe Root opened up about his captaincy stint and termed it as ‘unhealthy’. He expressed that the captaincy pressure was taking a toll on his personal health.
“It had become a very unhealthy relationship, to be honest, the captaincy and me. It started to really take a bad toll on my own personal health. I couldn’t leave it at the ground anymore, it was coming home. It wasn’t fair on my family, on people close to me, and it wasn’t fair on myself either,” Root was quoted as saying by the ESPNcricinfo.
“I had thrown everything at it and I was determined to help turn this team around but I realized over that time at home that it would have to be in a different way. I’m very excited to do that now and to do everything I can to help Ben really turn this team around and make this team the force it should and can be,” he added.
“I knew it was the right thing to do” – Joe Root on stepping down as England’s Test captain
The former English captain further expressed that he knew that stepping as the England test skipper was the right thing. He added that it relieved the pressure off him and was feeling a lot better after the announcement.
“I obviously tried as much as I could. But I think I was unaware of how much it was grabbing hold of me. Just needed to make the decision, and I knew it was the right thing to do. I felt like a big weight had been lifted and I immediately felt a lot better.”
“As hard as it was, obviously it’s been a huge privilege and something that I’m extremely proud to have done. But it’s time for a new phase in my career. And it’s one that I’m very much looking forward to, seeing one of my best mates now take this team forward and start in a way that he has,” added Joe Root.
The second Test match between England and New Zealand will begin on June 10 in Nottingham.
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