'England captaincy is not popularity contest': Nasser Hussain wants Joe Root to pick the right battles

Root received heavy flak from former cricketers and pundits for letting the emotions get the better of him and fail miserably with tactics on the final day of the Lord's Test match.

England skipper Joe Root, without a shred of a doubt, is a popular figure in the dressing room and among the crowd. He is an amicable figure who continues to put his best forward for the team and his hard work is paying rich dividends. However, he heads into the third Test match against India under immense pressure as captain and Nasser Hussain wishes to see more aggression from him.

England's Joe Root. (AP)

Root was on the receiving end of criticism following questionable tactics from Team England on the final day of the Lord's Test match against India. Despite having the visitors' back to the wall, he set a defensive field for tailenders Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. The ploy backfired as the two put on 89 runs for the ninth wicket and turned the game around. Eventually, the hosts lost by 151 runs and now are trailing 0-1 after the first two games.

Writing for his column in The Daily Mail, Hussain stated that while Root is crowd favourite, it is now time to be "ruthless" as he believes the "England captaincy is not a popularity contest".

"Joe is extremely popular within the dressing room and with England supporters — you only have to listen to all the chants of ‘Rooooooot’ to know that — but I’m afraid the England captaincy is not a popularity contest."

"The only thing I would say, not just about Root but also this England regime, is that it seems they do not quite know when to be ruthless and when is the right time for Joe to be an angry captain. The time to offer the stick rather than the carrot," explained Hussain.

Former England captain Hussain also remarked that Root is known to pick the wrong battles and that he now wants to see an "angry Joe" by picking the right ones.

"At times, Joe picks the wrong moment to go into battle. He got it wrong on that final morning at Lord’s when he picked a fight with Jasprit Bumrah. He would be better off picking a battle with his top three over their lack of runs, or the ECB over scheduling."

"And maybe he should be picking a battle with Ashley Giles and Silverwood about why he has had one arm tied behind his back and hasn’t had his best Test side at any stage in the last year. I’d like to see an angry Joe then," commented Hussain.

England has won 25 Tests since Root took over the reins in 2017. When his team takes to the field for the third Test at Headingley, beginning on August 25, he will have a chance to equal Michael Vaughan's record of 26.