"The passion for the game is evident when you walk into any stadium"- Joe Root recollects fond memories of playing in India 

Joe Root recently recollected his memories of playing in India with pleasure and stated that the passion of the Indian crowd for cricket is evident when a player walks out to play in any of the stadiums.

The former England Test skipper is currently plying his trade for the Dubai Capitals in the inaugural edition of the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE. Having made his debut across formats in India, Root added that it’s always a great place to play cricket.

During his interaction with Zee, Root said:

"I made my debut in all three formats in India quite a long time ago now. I play my 50th test in India. Fond memories, it's a great place to play cricket."

"The passion for the game is evident when you walk into any stadium," he added. "You don't even have to be in a cricket ground to be honest, it's an obvious love for the sport and it's great to see that passion. I always enjoy getting to play in India also have a lot of fun."

For the first time in his career, Root will be seen in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after being bought by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) during the mini-auction last month for ₹1 crore.

Joe Root previously expressed his desire to play in the IPL but went unsold in the 2018 auction.

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"This is a great opportunity for this league to be better" - Joe Root opens up on the UAE league

Joe Root scored 26 runs off 21 balls in his opening match for the Dubai Capitals and looked in fluent touch. The experienced campaigner also opened up on his views on the UAE league, stating that with more exposure, the tournament can reach new heights and acquire the services of more big players.

"There's some talent around which is great to see and you want to come to a tournament here and see development, especially in the last 10 years in this part of the world and this is a great opportunity for this league to be better than further," Root said. "Hopefully I've seen with a number of these associations, the more exposure you get, the more frequency you get to rub shoulders with big players and good coaches."

"Guys that have been around for a long time in international cricket and franchise cricket have a lot to share," he further added. "The faster the development speeds up and the interest as well, the participation at lower levels of grassroots levels will also increase.

"The uptake and intake of the game are hopefully going to grow and again, that's only going to be a good thing for world cricket."

Joe Root stepped down from England's Test captaincy in April 2022 after leading England in 64 Tests, winning 27 of them.

The decision to step down from the leadership role came after a 1-0 series loss against West Indies followed by a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia in the Ashes.