"As good as any player England has ever seen" - Brendon McCullum backs Joe Root to find form in IND vs ENG Tests

England head coach Brendon McCullum has thrown his weight behind Joe Root amid his struggles in the first two matches of the five-Test series against India. The former New Zealand captain justified the batter's shot in the fourth innings in Vizag, suggesting it was one of those days that it didn't come off.

Root played one shot too many during the fourth innings of the second Test against India in Vizag. It resulted in his dismissal for 16 off 10 deliveries when England needed well over 200 more to win. The right-handed batter's slog over mid-wicket came under criticism, with former cricketer Darren Gough calling it 'reckless'.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, McCullum revealed that the shot from Root came only to push the field back. With three more Tests to go, he backs the former captain to come up with the goods.

As quoted by The Telegraph, the 42-year-old claimed:

"He’s a world class player and as good as any player England has ever seen. His method in the second innings, whilst people will look to the dismissal, he was trying to get the field back so he could milk them.

"It is the bravery you have to take at times and sometimes you get out doing it but that’s just the way the game rolls. There is no doubt from our point of view in that approach. There are three Tests left, still an opportunity to score a whole s--t-ton of runs."

McCullum also hopes to see the few players affected by the virus recover in time for the third Test in Rajkot, beginning on February 15. He said:

"We had a number of guys who were ill in the Test too and whether it was a virus or not we’re not sure. Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley in particular too but they did not want to shirk it. We will never use that as an excuse but hopefully that will subside in the next little while and we will see where Leachy sits for the next one."

Jack Leach missed the second Test in Vizag, prompting the management to hand Shoaib Bashir a debut. The 20-year-old performed decently, picking up four wickets, with Rohit Sharma as his maiden Test victim.

India won the match by 106 runs, leveling the series 1-1. Chasing 399 in the fourth innings in the second Test in Vizag, England managed 292 as Zak Crawley top-scored with 73.

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"His knee is pretty bad" - Brendon McCullum on Jack Leach

Brendon McCullum. (Image Credits: Getty)

McCullum added that Jack Leach's knee remains inflamed and suggested he is unlikely to play the third Test, saying:

"I don’t really know [how the injury is] because he has been crook. His knee is pretty bad and it was remarkable he got through what he did in the first Test match. It is still pretty inflamed and he is back at the hotel pretty crook."

Jack Leach suffered a knee injury during the first Test in Visakhapatnam. He bowled 26 overs in the first innings and 10 overs in the second as England won by 28 runs.