England vs India: Joe Root hungry to prove his worth to one-day plans after being dropped from final T20

After being dropped from the T20-deciding defeat, Root is determined to prove he is not done yet when it comes to England’s one-day plans ahead of the 2019 World Cup dress rehearsal

Joe Root is determined to prove his worth to England's Twenty20 cause (Getty)

Having been dropped for the T20 decider against India in Bristol last weekend, it would be typical of Joe Root to break his barren run of form in what promises to be his country’s biggest one-day series since the last Cricket World Cup in 2015.

Eoin Morgan’s team have risen to the top of the world rankings on the back of seven successive series wins, the last an emphatic 5-0 whitewash of Australia last month.

India, though, will not fear England given they themselves are positioned at No 2 in the rankings following victory in their past nine series, with a 5-1 drubbing of South Africa away from home in February underlining their class in this format.

This three-match series, which starts in Nottingham on Thursday and is taking place just 11 months before the next World Cup in England, promises to be a titanic struggle between the two favourites for that tournament.

In Root they will have a player determined to show what he can do in limited-overs cricket after he was dropped for last Sunday’s T20 finale following a run of seven innings without a half-century.

“I think it is an important series,” said Root. “We have played some really strong one-day cricket and India are right up there as one of the best sides in the world. They present different challenges to the ones we have recently faced but we know that if we play to our potential and keep learning and improving we will be a difficult side to play, especially at home in these conditions.

Root was dropped from England's final T20 against India (PA)

“India have been a really strong team in this format for a long time. They are in a similar position to us, they have great depth and we have to play well but it is a really good marker to see where we’re at.”

The feeling of losing his place in the T20 team, ostensibly to accommodate returning all-rounder Ben Stokes, was a shock for Root.

It is a decision he fully understands, though. “It can’t have been an easy one for them to make but that is part and parcel of having a really strong squad,” he said.

“You have to take that. It is always difficult being left out. One thing for sure is it is great to see Stokes back to somewhere near fully fit.

“He is such a big asset to all three teams and with him firing hopefully throughout this series we will see some really strong performances from him.”

Root believes he still has a future in international T20 matches (Getty)

Form is fickle but Root’s current struggles are a surprise given he has been England’s most consistent runscorer across all formats over the past four years.

A lack of power appeared to have cost him his T20 place. Yet in a 50-over team characterised by explosive batting, there is room for a stylist such as Root.

“You’ve got to always try to stay true to yourself,” he admitted. “There’s always an element of trying to expand your game and develop certain areas, but ultimately you have to play the situation laid out in front of you. That’s where I’ve been fairly consistent over the last couple of years.

Ben Stokes was brought back in favour to Root (Getty)

“My mindset is strong on that, which it has been throughout the whole summer really. It’s been slightly frustrating on occasions, it’s not quite materialised how I would have liked, but this is another opportunity for me to go out and make some big runs, and I’m hungry to do so. I’ve been quite quiet this summer so far, but I’ve got that bit between my teeth now and it’s a great chance to go on and do something special.”

This series will see a fascinating clash of styles, with England’s success based on racking up huge totals, such as the ODI world-record 481 for six against Australia at Trent Bridge last month, and India’s on their bowling attack.

As well as world-class seamers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav, they possess two wrist-spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who have taken 55 wickets in the 13 ODIs they have played together.

Root is expected to return for the ODI series against India (Getty)

The strength in India’s bowling masks the weakness of a batting line-up over-reliant on a top three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and captain Virat Kohli. Aside from MS Dhoni, their middle and lower is weak and, if England can rack up big totals again, they threaten to expose that weakness.

Root was cautious when asked whether the team would be targeting records again, especially with the first match taking place at a ground in Trent Bridge where they have broken the world-record ODI total twice in the past three years.

“I think it is dangerous to start thinking too far ahead,” said Root. “One thing that generally we have been good at the last couple of years is assessing things early on and planning an innings from there. “It might be the case it might not but we try and win this series and do everything we can to come out of an impressive white-ball summer.”

Win it and England really will start to believe cricket is coming home next summer.