England captain Joe Root will be leaving it to the last minute to decide if he wants to enter the Indian Premier League. With the mega auctions scheduled for February 2022, this could be the most preferable time for someone like Joe Root to enter the fray. Root is not a well know T20 commodity and has not played the format for England for two and a half years.
ESPNCricinfo quoted Joe Root on the matter where the England Test captain made it clear that the national team and the Test format is still most important to him.
"Time is ticking but I have a lot to weigh up. Will it have a negative impact on me playing Test cricket? If I don't think so then I will put myself in the auction. But I will never do anything that will detract from playing Test cricket for England. It's so important to make sure that is the priority for me and other players as well."
With just a couple of days left to go, Root would be cutting it very close in putting his name in the pot. An integral part of the fab four, Root has never played in the Indian Premier League. But with the modern T20 anchor role coming to fore in the recent times on slower decks, Root could end up playing the Steve Smith role in case the tournament is held outside of India and on the slower decks.
Earlier this week, Mitchell Starc made his intentions clear about playing in the IPL and stated that it could play a big part in Australia’s title defence later this year.