'Disappointed' Root tipped to hit back

Stand-in coach Paul Farbrace insists Joe Root still has a major role to play in England's T20 team, tipping the Test captain to bounce back from his surprise axing.

The return of allrounder Ben Stokes for England's T20 International series decider against India forced selectors into the difficult decision of omitting Root from a stacked top order.

The 27-year-old had managed scores of 35, 0 and 9 in his three previous T20 knocks against India and Australia, with the hosts opting to go with more powerful batsmen for the small Bristol ground.

Root could only watch from the sidelines as India claimed a 2-1 series victory by chasing down England's 9-198 with eight balls to spare.

The right-hander is expected to return for the three-match ODI series which starts Thursday in Nottingham.

"He is our best player. He is a fantastic player in all forms of the game," Farbrace said post-match in Bristol. "In T20 you need players who can manipulate the strike and can keep you in the entire game and that is a skill that Joe has.

"He has the ability to hit boundaries. He might not have the power of a Ben Stokes or a Jonny Bairstow but strong cricket shots in T20 cricket will get you where you want.

"I am sure he was bitterly disappointed to be left out because he wants to show he is a quality player in all forms of the game. He will be spurred on by that and he will do everything he can to make sure he is ready for Thursday's game at Trent Bridge.

Farbrace added: "I still think, and I genuinely believe it, that if England are to be successful in T20 cricket over the next couple of years leading into the World Cup, Joe Root will play a magnificent and big part in that. He's our best player - a fantastic player in all forms of the game."

Root has been in charge of England's Test team for a year, since the 2017 series against South Africa, but the white-ball sides are captained by Eoin Morgan.

Morgan has led the limited-overs team since 2015 and recently took them to a 5-0 one-day international series whitewash over Australia.

And Farbrace, who was in charge of England during the T20 series against India which ended on Sunday, says the Yorkshireman's five-day leadership would have been enhanced by Morgan.

"Any experience he has had over the last few days will definitely help him," Farbrace said.

"I am sure he will be watching the way Eoin talks to the team, the way he goes about things and the decisions that he makes.

"I am sure those two will have lots of conversations about the role of being England cricket captain whether it is a red or a white ball.

"Towards the end of the New Zealand series this year we started to see Joe really getting to grips with the Test match team as a captain."