Joe Root : The new Alistair Cook ? Or is it too early to call?

However, there are always two sides to a story, and this is no different. The weight of expectation can weigh down quite heavily on young cricketers. Look at Rohit Sharma; he started his career as a force to be reckoned with: class, talent, temperament – he had them all. But the problem at the time was that he was being compared to legends, and a lot was expected of him at a very young age. That hampered his growth and even today some people believe that he might be India’s largest let down.

It’s a funny thing, comparison. It could go two ways, either the person getting compared to a great strives and works hard at becoming a better player, or he withers under the pressure and is always shadowed by his more accomplished colleague.

Though Joe Root hasn’t shown signs of such vulnerability, it is worth giving it a thought. Not a long time ago, a similar man named Ian Bell was compared to great players, but at a similar age he was removed from the side for under-performing, a trait many many young men share with each other.

The weight of expectation can be too heavy at times, and those times are the actual tests of life. That did lead to him working long hours on his batting, but the sheer pressure of delivery left him wondering whether he could achieve greater things ever again. Now after years of hard work and determination, Bell is the player we know him to be today.

His batting has come along way, and he is England’s best batsman in the Ashes so far. Same can be said about Root. The comparisons between his mentor Cook and him could make him work harder and he may become a batsman feared around the world, or the pressure of performance for a side as ambitious as England could push him into the shadows of the very idol he worships.

What I’m trying to say is never look too far ahead; it could become your undoing. Instead, let’s give this young man the time he deserves. Even though Joe Root seems to have a tryst with destiny someday soon, it is advisable to wait for that tryst, rather than summon it with childlike eagerness.

Though he may seem to be ready to be pushed into the limelight, in my opinion until he is tested in situations that await him in Australia and South Africa, he may well be ill-equipped to face the world.

Let’s wait for him to mature even more, and only then should we start to judge him. For now, let’s just admire his batting and wait for that ‘day’ to arrive.

His style, grit and determination can be compared to legends, and his attitude to living legends, but it is his technique that is like a love letter to the very establishment that makes him what he is today.

That establishment is, of course, Cricket.