India and Sri Lanka offer a Root to glory

England’s tours to Sri Lanka and India could determine whether they play in the final of the World Test Championship this summer.

They also offer Joe Root the chance to re-establish himself as a member of world cricket’s Fab Four.

That was the name coined for the batting quartet of Root, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.

The latter claimed his place at the top of the

ICC batting rankings last week, courtesy of his hundred in a New Zealand win over Pakistan at Mount Maunganui.

Williamson finished the year in pole position following the struggles of Steve Smith, who registered his first Test duck since 2016 as the Aussies were pummelled by India at the MCG.

Smith is currently on the ropes, having scored just 10 runs in two Tests.

Having demolished England’s bowlers in the 2019 Ashes, he averages just 26 in the seven Tests he has played since.

Kohli flew home after the first Test in Adelaide in order to attend the birth of his first child.

He has also endured a difficult 2020, having scored just 38 runs in four innings on India’s tour of New Zealand in February.

With Kohli back home and Smith struggling, the stage is set for Root to reclaim a place alongside three of the undisputed batting greats.

Root sits ninth in the

ICC rankings and last topped the list as far back as 2015.

He rose to the top after a dominant Ashes series that saw him score two hundreds and two fifties as England reclaimed the urn with a 3-2 series win.

Root was appointed captain in February 2017 and has enjoyed mixed fortunes with the bat ever since despite maintaining a Test average of almost 48 and remaining one of England’s most consistent performers.

Root’s marathon knock of 226 against New Zealand at Hamilton last November is his only triple figure score in 17 Tests.

His tally of 17 hundreds from 97 Tests pales in comparison to the others.