Shane Warne, the former Australian spinner, believes that the current England Test skipper, Joe Root, can be the world’s best batsman if he is freed from captaincy duties.
Cricket news: He also wants the batsman to improve on his conversion rate
The 49-year-old recently voiced his opinion about Root’s batting when he was interviewed during his promotional event of his autobiography ‘No Spin’.
“Maybe England could think about their best player having the shackles off, not having the responsibility of captaincy. If he (Joe Root) totally 100 per cent concentrates on his cricket, his batting and nothing else, then maybe we might see Joe Root become the best batsman in the world,” Warne said.
Warne also added that he is very much disappointed when it comes to the conversion rates of Root. He said that Root has often thrown his wicket away after getting to his half-century, and many a times in his 80s.
Warne is not at all pleased to witness this over and over again. He feels that Root needs to get more centuries in order to be compared to the likes of Steve Smith and Virat Kohli.
“He’d love to have more hundreds to be able to be spoken about in the same sentences as Virat Kohli and Steve Smith,” he said.
Warne also added that he feels Jos Buttler might be the perfect replacement as England’s Test skipper. Warne had spent time with Buttler while playing for Rajasthan Royals during the IPL and believes that the current Test vice-captain can successfully replace Root.
“I’ve worked with Jos a bit this year, and I think he’s someone who would make an excellent captain. I really enjoyed working with him, I’d like to think I helped him out a little bit,” he said as quoted by Cricket.com.au