RR vs SRH IPL 2023: Joe Root makes his IPL debut with Rajasthan Royals, England star's long wait ends

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RR vs SRH IPL 2023: Joe Root's long wait to make his debut in the Indian Premier League finally comes to an end as the stalwart from England cricket will make his appearance for Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday (May 7).

Rajasthan Royals are hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad at home in the league stage and captain Sanju Samson announced the right-handed English batter will be donning that Pink and Blue for the first time.

Root - who went unsold in the previous IPL auctions - was purchased by Rajasthan Royals during the IPL 2023 Auction at his base price of Rs 1 crore. Root featured in 88 T20s and amassed 2083 runs with 92* being his highest score. The Yorkshire cricketer has also slammed 13 half-centuries in his T20 career.

The England cricketer, however, failed to get a chance to bat in his IPL debut game. Root has a history of not getting to bat in his debut game in almost every format.

Joe Root's ODI debut: Did Not Bat

Joe Root's T20I debut: Did Not Bat

Joe Root's The Hundred debut: Did Not Bat

Joe Root's IPL debut: Did Not Bat

Ahead of his debut game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Root said he's always very passionate about playing for his country and he's enjoyed being in the T20 cricket set-up in the past few weeks.

"I'm very passionate about playing for England clearly. It was a dream to just play one Test match, let alone so many. Looking forward to what's to come later on in the year. But got my hands full now and I'm enjoying what's happening here right now. The last few weeks for me have been really good to just be around T20 cricket," Root told the broadcasters.

The 32-year-old further said, "Been a long time since I've had a block of time to concentrate only on T20. To get the opportunity to be here, learn from the coaches and see some young guys come through has been beneficial for me as a player."

The legendary English batter - who has several major milestones in the red-ball format - explained the reason why he decided to foray into this format to look at the game slightly differently.

"I'm in this format just to try and look at the game slightly differently, and that's always what you want to do when you're new somewhere - just be a sponge and soak as much as possible."

Root, however, wasn't aware if he was going to be a part of the Playing 11 and said, "I may not be playing but I feel like I have had a huge amount of learning in the last few weeks. If I get an opportunity, I'll try to do my best for the side.

"I think we (RR) need to play to our abilities, there is so much experience and exciting talent within the group, and it is just about putting on a show and expressing ourselves. Hopefully, we can play with confidence and freedom, and entertain the crowds."