“How much of a toll it has taken on me”- Joe Root steps down as England’s Test captain, Twitter reacts over his resignation

Joe Root has relinquished England’s Test captaincy on Friday, April 15, after a disappointing Ashes and the Caribbean tours. England have won just one of their previous 17 matches and Joe Root says the job had taken a heavy toll on him.

Joe Root was appointed captain in 2017 after Alastair Cook resigned from the job. Leading the team for five years, he played 64 matches, won 27 and lost 26. In his tenure as a captain, he scored 5295 runs with 14 centuries and 26 half-centuries.

After the recent defeats in the Ashes and against the West Indies, fans and even ex-England captains Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, and Michael Vaughan and had started calling him out publicly to step down from captaincy.

Look at how Twitterati reacted to this:

Stokes is the obvious choice but he may want to become a specialist batter considering the workload and recent injuries .

— England Cricket fan? (@Cricketaccount2) April 15, 2022

Feels like he's stepping down to avoid his tenure being classed as a failure. The next few years look bleak for the England test side. ?U JR

— George Bourne (@George_Bourne93) April 15, 2022

Great players (and Joe Root has been and continues to be a very great batsman) don't always make great captains. There's no shame in that. Where there is shame is that Tom Harrison hasn't seen fit to step down also.

— Jeffrey Simon (@the_grammatist) April 15, 2022

Imagine if captaincy was the reason for his run scoring, and that giving it up would have a dramatic effect on it ???

— ?? ????-???????? (@Badman_LDN) April 15, 2022

https://twitter.com/YamaHallur483/status/1514910742226812928

@root66 ?? pic.twitter.com/t5cBfuhVmM

— ?Ⓐ???? 1⃣5⃣ (@katthikathir) April 15, 2022

Carried the team with captaincy and the batting, even with his bowling at times. What a player, what a bloke

— leon patel (@leonpatell) April 15, 2022

https://twitter.com/DOmoDanz/status/1514902351756378112

Thank you @root66 ? was all for you staying but I can understand why you are stepping down,hopefully it relieves all the stress and you can get enjoy some peace. ?❤️????????

— MrJJuK (@MrJJuK) April 15, 2022

https://twitter.com/SomenParida2/status/1514905805522620416

Great Captain who led by example, but he made the right decision at the right time. Also signals the need for major change in the wider structure of the red ball game.

— Martin Crow (@boroboy151) April 15, 2022

https://twitter.com/norman_speakes/status/1514909519083626496

Ben stokes to be the next Test captian for England? @englandcricket

— Ahmed (@born_realist_IK) April 15, 2022

Interesting to see how Root’s critics will suddenly transform the team to one that has openers who don’t go out cheaply , batters who can get more than 300 runs in an innings and bowlers who can take 20 wickets in a match. Can we see all these during the SA n NZ series at home?

— vijayarooban (@ongchett) April 15, 2022

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“It has been the most challenging decision”- Joe Root

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

“I am immensely proud to have captained my country and will look back on the past five years with enormous pride. It has been an honour to have done the job and to have been a custodian of what is the pinnacle of English cricket.

“I had loved leading my country but recently it’s hit home how much of a toll it has taken on me and the impact it has had on me away from the game,” added Joe Root.

But he said that he is “excited to continue… producing performances that will enable the team to succeed”. And added: “I look forward to helping the next captain, my team-mates and coaches in whatever way I can.”

Ben Stokes, the vice-captain is the favorite to replace him but Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad, and Rory Burns are also among other best contenders.

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