Jasprit Bumrah warned about his potential decline in performance: Fab Four's standout player receives a cautionary message

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has issued a stern warning to ICC number 1 ranked Test batter Joe Root, advising him to be prepared for the upcoming challenge posed by Jasprit Bumrah next summer. Root has been an unstoppable force in Test cricket during the post-COVID era, outperforming his contemporaries in the 'Fab Four' category. Since 2021, Root has amassed an impressive 4567 runs in 49 Tests, including 17 centuries - half of his total Test career runs since his debut in 2012. Despite his remarkable performance, Root has faced difficulties against India's Jasprit Bumrah, who has consistently troubled the English batsman in recent matches. As Root continues to excel on the field, Vaughan's warning serves as a reminder for him to prepare adequately for the upcoming challenges posed by top-class bowlers like Bumrah.

During England's tour of India earlier this year, Bumrah dismissed Root thrice and constantly troubled him with his disciplined line and length.

The England cricket team has adopted a fearless batting approach since the arrival of Brendon McCullum, but despite that, they rely heavily on Root to anchor and stabilise innings. England's success rate is highly dependable on Root's batting form.

In the recently concluded third Test against Sri Lanka, Root failed to score big and was dismissed for 13 and 12 across two innings; as a result, England crumbled under pressure and lost the match by 8 wickets.

Vaughan wasn't impressed with England's batting performance in the third Test and pointed out the over-reliance on Root in the team despite all the swashbuckling players around him.

“This week really hit home to me how important Joe Root is to this batting lineup. His batting is the key. All these flamboyant players around him get flamboyant fifties. But without the glue at No 4 getting the huge amount of runs he does, they are knackered,” wrote Vaughan in his column for The Telegraph.

The former English skipper further claimed that Root can rescue the team every time, especially when he is up against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins (in Australian conditions).

“He can’t do it every week, and he didn’t do it this week. Jasprit Bumrah enjoys bowling at Root, and could severely limit his output next summer. The same goes for Pat Cummins in Australia, where Root has never scored a hundred. England have to have ways of succeeding when Root doesn’t make big runs. On the basis of this game, they don’t,” he added.