Joe Root's Struggles in ODIs Persist as He Falls to Ravindra Jadeja on Return to Format

Joe Root's much-awaited return to One Day Internationals after the 2023 World Cup wasn't the comeback this England cricketer was hoping for and still continued facing the bad run of form. Root was dismissed for 19 runs in the first ODI of the series between India and England, played at Nagpur, which added further to his disappointing run in this format. It was the first outing of Root in an ODI since the World Cup and the 31-ball knock he managed cannot inspire much confidence about his ability to turn things around.

After England won the toss and decided to bat, Root came to the crease after the dismissal of the opener Phil Salt. During his short stay at the crease, Root could not score freely. India's bowlers, especially Kuldeep Yadav, kept a tight grip on him, restricting his opportunities to find the boundary. His only constraint was against Kuldeep, and he really stumbled while Ravindra Jadeja trapped him LBW (leg before wicket) which ended a promising 44-run partnership with his captain Jos Buttler.

Jadeja has been one of those problems that Root hasn't overcome. In fact, in 10 innings against Jadeja, he has scored just 133 runs off 115 balls. The left-arm spinner has sent him back on four occasions as well. This vulnerability to spin, especially in the shorter format, has become a big reason for his fall in recent years in ODI cricket.

Root, being one of the major players of the ODI England team, played for the side through which they won their first ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. However, the years thereafter he gradually became more focused towards tests where he really did very well to entrench himself into the side. At times when test cricket goes well for Root, ODI cricket did not do too much for him, and that he could not stabilize. Since the commencement of 2020, he has played in 29 ODIs, collecting 685 runs in 26 innings at just an average of 28.54. So far, Root has scored six half-centuries, with the highest being 86.

This decline in his performance in ODIs has visibly affected his career-wide statistics. As of the end of 2019, Root boasted an incredible average of 51.36 ODI batting average. However, of late, the number has declined to 47.39. Root has so far scored 6,541 runs in 161 innings for the total of 172 matches in ODIs. The highest score he has ever made is 133 unbeaten. Of those runs include 16 hundreds and 39 fifties.

Though Root has been a bit out of form lately, he is one of the most experienced players that England has to offer. The fact that he tends to come good at crucial times for his team makes him a regular inclusion in the side. However, his inability against spinners and more so Jadeja remains his biggest challenge in ODIs. Those issues have naturally arisen questions over his role within England's limited-overs setup going forward, particularly as the team eyes upcoming tournaments such as the Champions Trophy.

Both the teams have already started to glance beyond T20 and have gone eye-to-eye for ODIs, after India dominated a much-talked-about T20I series 4-1. Both the teams had their chance to cement and finalize strategies and combinations going into the Champions Trophy with this ODI. In the ODI, England replaced Jamie Overton, who had played all T20Is, with Root, who had already taken huge replacements.

India, on the other hand, had two of their own. The side was missing star batsman Virat Kohli who sat out due to a knee issue, and wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, who also missed the game. KL Rahul stood wickets in the absence of Pant. Two debutants namely Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harshit Rana were given caps before the game, and rest of the side was almost the same as in the T20 series.

For England, the side was full of familiar faces, with Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, and Jofra Archer forming the core of the team. Buttler's leadership, along with Root's return, brought stability to the side, though Root's early departure only served to highlight the problems the team might face against quality spin bowling.

With every series now, all eyes will be on Joe Root, who can bounce back from this disappointment. His experience and skill remain very valuable assets for England, but for now, can he overcome the struggles he's had against spin and find back what has made him one of the most consistent ODI batters in the world? Given that the Champions Trophy is approaching, he will be keen on performing for his teams in the matches to follow.