Joe Root is self-driven, that he plays under Stokes and McCullum's instructions is a misconception: Mike Atherton

Former England captain Michael Atherton has emphasized that Joe Root conducts his game independently, and is unaffected by the directives of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Notably, Root attempted a reverse-scoop  in the first innings of the third Test against India in Rajkot, which led to his dismissal and triggered England’s collapse. Soon after that, many former cricketers and experts criticised Root’s approach and urged him to step out of the Bazball mode and focus on playing balls on merit, along with playing like how he normally would.

In the fourth Test in Ranchi, Root played a sensational knock and brought up his 10th century against India in Tests. He took some time to settle down, and then went on to score an unbeaten 122 runs as the visitors posted 353 in the first innings. Soon after that, Atherton mentioned that Root follows his own pattern and doesn’t play Bazball when it's not required.

Also Read: Joe Root showed exceptional class under difficult circumstances: Anil Kumble

“There is a misconception that Root has been playing the extrovert of late under instruction, but that is not the case. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are not prescriptive and the expansion of Root’s game has been self-driven, prompted by a desire to buy into a new era out of loyalty to Stokes as well as a desire not to miss out on the fun. But he is smart enough to know when a recalibration is needed; he knew that in Wellington and he knew it here,” Atherton wrote in his column for The Times UK.

Root’s judgment of length to the spinners was impeccable: Atherton

Atherton lauded Root for showing maturity with the bat in the fourth Test. He pointed out that the Sheffield-born cricketer avoided playing sweeps or reverse-sweeps and utilized only a few horizontal bat shots, contributing to his controlled style of play.

Also Read - Joe Root surpasses Steve Smith with record-breaking ton against India in Ranchi Test

“So, as they might say in Yorkshire, there was nowt flashy to report. No scoops, reverse-scoops or reverse-sweeps, and very few horizontal bat shots, on a low-bounce pitch. Instead, his bat arrived to the ball as if on a plumb line, and his judgment of length to the spinners was impeccable. He responded to the situation rather than trying to force it - but controlled it, nonetheless,” Atherton added.