Joe Root mulling over entering mega auction but Test cricket priority

England Test skipper Joe Root is mulling over entering the upcoming mega auction for the Indian T20 League (ITL) 2022. The batter though said he has not yet made a final decision and will take a call once he is sure that it will not hamper his Test game. The mega auction is likely to be held in the second week of February in Bengaluru. However, the COVID-19 situation might force BCCI to push the dates further. The upcoming season of the ITL will be bigger given the addition of the two new teams.

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"I have not made a decision on the IPL just yet," Root said as quoted by The Cricketer. "It is something I will have to keep wrestling with. Time is ticking but I have a lot to weigh up.

"The thing I will weigh up is: will it have a negative impact on me playing Test cricket for this team? If I don't think it will, then I will put myself in that position to play and put myself in the auction.

"But I will never compromise or do anything that will detract from playing Test cricket for England. It is so important to make sure that is the priority for me and other players as well."

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Earlier, Mitchell Starc also hinted that he will put his name in the ITL auction. Starc said he has given a thought on participating in the tournament but has not come to a final conclusion. “I’ve got two days to get my paperwork in, so that might be something to do today before training. I’ve not put my name down just yet, but I’ve got a couple more days to decide on that. It’s certainly on the table regardless of what the schedule has got coming up,” said Mitchell Starc as quoted by cricket.com.au

“I haven’t been for six years or so. Obviously, with a heavy weighting towards T20s over the last period of time and the World Cup coming up later this year, that’s one to take into consideration as well. There’s a bit going on with scheduling and what-not to get our heads around, certainly for us multi-format players,” he added.