India Vs England: Joe Root Arrives, Joins England Limited Overs Squad

The England cricket team was bolstered by the arrival in Mumbai of their top batsman Joe Root, in time to travel with the squad on Friday to Pune for the first of three ODIs on January 15. "Joe Root has arrived. He is at the ground (Brabourne Stadium)," the team's media manager said on Thursday. England's prolific batsman, who had stayed back for a few days for the birth of his first child, is not playing the second warm-up game against the India A squad.

Having witnessed the birth of his son Alfred on Saturday, Root came back to India to rejoin the England limited overs squad on Wednesday ahead of three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches.

By the time he gets home he could well have been appointed captain of the England Test team, with current skipper Alastair Cook set for talks with Andrew Strauss over his future following the 4-0 Test series defeat against India.

"Cook has been mulling over his future... and sources have indicated he is ready to walk away from the job after four years and 59 matches in charge," according to reports in Daily Telegraph. "Root is the only candidate to take over, with Ben Stokes almost certain to be appointed his deputy, and lead England's Ashes campaign in Australia later this year," the report added.

England will play the first game of the three-match ODI series against India on January 15 in Pune. The second match will be played on January 19 and the last match on January 22. The T20I series will begin in Kanpur from January 26.

(With inputs from PTI)