'I want to play as much as I can for England' - Joe Root reveals his clear plan for ODIs

England batter Joe Root spoke after winning the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten 166*(139) in the second ODI of the series against the West Indies in Cardiff, which gave England an unassailable lead of 2-0 on Sunday, June 1. The star batter completed 7000 ODI runs during the innings. When asked about the same, the veteran claimed it to be a sign of getting old.

Root wished to play as many innings as possible for his national side. The right-handed batter claimed that he still had a lot of cricket left in him. The middle-order batter confirmed that he still has the desire to get better every day, bring value to the side, and remain not out to help his side win matches and series in different formats.

"It is a sign you are getting old (on scoring 7,000 runs in ODIs), having played as many games as that. I want to give as much as I can for England for as long as I can. I have still got a lot to give and a lot more runs in there, and hopefully, an innings like that shows that," said Root in the post-match talk.

"Until that desire, that want to get better every day, that want to add to the group and want to be not out at the end of a chase like that, when that is not a burning desire anymore, it will be time to stop. It does not feel like that is anywhere near the case at the moment, and I will keep just trying to do my part in helping us win games and series down the line," the star batter added.

I almost felt guilty that I was not able to be there for Jos: Root

He was then asked about Jos Buttler stepping down as England's skipper from limited overs cricket following England's poor performance in ODIs in the World Cup 2023 and Champions Trophy 2025, and his inability to defend the T20 World Cup in 2024.

The great batter recalled how long he had been playing with Buttler for and was guilty of not being there with him in his tough times as a skipper. Root addressed the fact that there is more room to play ODIs, wished to play as many of them, and hoped to make England a better team than they currently are.

"I have played a huge amount of cricket with Jos, and I almost felt guilty that I was not able to be there for him throughout a lot of his tenure. Now that there is more chances and more opportunities to play ODI cricket, I want to be involved in that. I want to play as much as I can for England. If I'm going to make the team better, then absolutely," Root added.