Joe Root stepped down as England Test captain

“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯”

Root said in a statement issued by the England Cricket Board (ECB). Saying that the role had taken a heavy toll on him recently, after dispiriting tours of Australia and the Caribbean capped a string of poor outcomes.

His resignation follows the sackings of England men’s cricket managing director Ashley Giles and head coach Chris Silverwood, with the pair dismissed before the West Indies tour after a humbling 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia over the winter.

“𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦; 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.”

Ex-England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain also agreed that it was time for the 31-year-old, Root to step down. Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad are candidates to become the next England Test captain, say Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain.

Since taking charge in 2017 as Alastair Cook’s successor, Root led England in a record 64 tests. His 27 wins and 26 defeats as captain are also records.