Joe Root wants ECB's rotation policy to end before WTC opener against India

England Test skipper Joe Root has said it's time for them to put aside the "rest and rotation" policy to play their strongest cricketers in the upcoming series against India and Australia. Root reckons that the team suffered a great deal in the last cycle of the World Test Championship because of the England Cricket Board's (ECB) rotation policy, which allows players some time off in between games to deal with the mental aspect of the sport amid COVID-19 restrictions and protocols. Root wants to start the new WTC cycle with his best players available for selection. 

"We are coming into a period of time now where rest and rotation is put behind us. Hopefully, if everyone is fit, we are going to have our best team available for what is to follow. That's really exciting and something I'm very much looking forward to. We have ten very hard Test matches against two brilliant opposition coming up but it is a great opportunity for us to play some strong cricket and if everyone is fit and available we will have a good team ourselves," Root was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as reported by PTI. 

'We have opportunity to start well'

When England visited India for a four-match Test series earlier this year, the team missed some of its crucial players due to the rotation policy, which garnered a lot of criticism from former cricketers and sports pundits as the series was supposed to decide the finalists for WTC 2019-21 cycle. However, Root now wants his team to do well in the upcoming World Test Championship season, which will go until 2023. The second edition of the World Test Championship will begin with the five-match series between India and England in August this year. 

Root believes that England has a chance in the next edition of the World Test Championship as he also mentioned how he missed being part of the final while watching the one-off Test between India and New Zealand last month that decided the inaugural winner of the competition. Root said the team has the opportunity to start well this year and do better than what they did in the last cycle. 

(Image Credit: AP)