That England were blown away in the T20I series against India would be an understatement. Jos Buttler's men did look promising in patches, but Abhishek Sharma and others made sure that the visitors were never allowed to get a grip on the series.

The Wankhede T20I turned out to be a nightmare for England after they slumped to their biggest defeat. Going into the ODI series, however, they have been bolstered by the return of Joe Root, whose numbers in English cricket are second to none.

Root is currently second in the list of most runs for England in ODIs, having racked up 6522 runs at an average of 47.60. Hence, England would be heaving a sigh of relief, getting their star batter for the 50-over format after their disastrous outing in the T20Is. Buttler's men are also looking to build some momentum before the Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan and the UAE, and it goes without saying that Root's role is going to hold a lot of significance.

Big gap a concern?

But as good a cricketer as Root is, there lies a major concern. Root hasn't played any form of limited-overs cricket for England since their exit in the ODI World Cup on Indian soil in 2023. In fact, he hasn't taken part in a List A match since then. Hence, there are enough doubts about how the veteran batter is shaping up, especially with the Champions Trophy coming up.

Root, nevertheless, has participated in T20 cricket, staying in touch in limited-overs cricket during this while. In 22 T20s since the ODI World Cup, he has scored 588 runs at an average of 34.58 with a top score of 92. In this period, Root played some jaw-dropping knocks in the T20 Blast, Hundred Men at home and SA20 on South African soil.

Playing for Paarl Royals in SA20, Root scored 92 not out and 78 against the Pretoria Capitals and the knocks should keep him in good stead before the ODI series in India. England would hope that Root doesn't take too much time to return to his best for them.

How has Root performed in India?

Joe Root has pleasant memories of playing international cricket on Indian soil. In 41 matches, he has scored 2218 runs at an average of 45.26 with three hundreds to his name. In ODIs, Root has 571 runs from 16 games in India with a top score of 82 against Bangladesh, although he averaged only 30.66 in the ODI World Cup.

But Root has enjoyed facing India in the latter's backyard, scoring 295 runs from eight matches at an average of 49.16. But he fetched a golden duck against the same opposition in the World Cup where Jasprit Bumrah trapped him plumb in front. But given the class of Root, opponents cannot afford to let their guards down when Root is in the middle.

Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar said that Root could bring some sanity into the English batting with his ability to rotate the strike. "It's still a format dominated by ones and twos. And that's where you need batters who have that ability against good bowling to be able to put the balls in the gaps like Virat Kohli does," Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.

"In England, Root seems the only qualified batter to do it because it's easier said than done, knowing where the ball is going to turn and eventually ending up playing with soft hands into the gaps is much more difficult than you would think and Root has the skill and the ability," Manjrekar added.

Root will have his task cut out when England face India in the first ODI on Thursday, February 6 at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. It goes without saying that Root needs to hit his straps early for England to turn their fortunes around on their tour of India.