Former England captain Michael Vaughan has heaped praise on Joe Root after the latter scored his 35th Test century, surpassing the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara. However, despite Root’s remarkable consistency, Vaughan believes he has a weakness against one particular bowler: India’s Jasprit Bumrah.
Vaughan acknowledged that Bumrah is the “only” bowler who poses a significant challenge to Root. “The only bowler he does not quite line up is Jasprit Bumrah, I reckon, but who does?” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph UK.
Vaughan attributed Root’s difficulty against Bumrah to the latter’s exceptional pace and ability to release the ball quickly. “To be as good as he is you have to pick up the ball so quickly out of the hand, which gives him that extra bit of time,” Vaughan explained.
Despite this weakness, Vaughan emphasized that Root has no major flaws in his technique. “There is no obvious way to get him out, against pace or spin. At the moment, bowlers are waiting for him to make a mistake,” Vaughan said.
Root’s 35th Test century came in the first Test against Pakistan in Multan, where he remained unbeaten on 176 at the end of Day 3. He is now eyeing his sixth double century on Day 4.
Bumrah and Root are likely to face off again in June 2025 when India tours England for a five-match Test series. This series will be part of the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle (2025-27).
