[WATCH] ENG vs IND 2025: Dinesh Karthik names his best England batter

The former Indian wicket-keeper batter, Dinesh Karthik, has named his best England batter during the morning of the third Test of the five-match series between England and India at Lord’s. It is not an easy job for any individual to name the best player among a country with a rich quality of batters in the longest format, but Karthik has chosen the former England captain.

Karthik reckons that Joe Root is his best England batter, given that the right-handed veteran has scored runs around the globe in various situations and different conditions. The veteran also remembered how the batter smashed India in the away Test with truck-loaded runs, and that’s the exact way of a player earning respect.

“A player who can score in all conditions, you got to understand, he came to India and on a minefield of a track, he got a hundred. Now, that’s where he earned respect. If you are from India, you want to score a hundred in England, New Zealand, Australia, and those are the places you are judged for, as an away player.” Karthik expressed during a recent interaction on Sky Sports Cricket.

Watch: Dinesh Karthik names Joe Root his best England batter

“Joe Root has scored runs across the globe. And that’s where he is so good. That’s how you play international cricket for a long time. He is the best England batter for me, which I know is up for argument.” Karthik continued, as he felt that in the same manner, an Indian player is also judged on how they score hundreds in Australia, England, and New Zealand.

Joe Root was excellent throughout the opening day of the Lord’s Test as he denied their Bazball approach and was attentive in the old-school defensive Test batting style. On the first ball of the second day, he went for a booming drive to celebrate his century to go past Rahul Dravid in the list of most centuries. Currently, he has 13218 runs in 284 innings at an average of 51.03 and a strike rate of 57.43.

As Karthik mentioned, Root has smacked 1272 Test runs in 30 red-ball innings in India at an average of 45.43 and a strike rate of 50, thanks to three centuries and six fifties. The only country where he is yet to celebrate a Test century, even after playing more than five Tests, remains Australia.