India, July 30 -- The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Joe Root as the next Test captain. The legendary batter, who is chasing Sachin Tendulkar's record in the longest format, now succeeds Ben Stokes, who retired from international cricket earlier this year. The England hierarchy, comprising Robert Key, the Managing Director, had the option of giving the Test captaincy to Harry Brook, who earlier served as the deputy to Stokes, but decided against it, leaving the young batter in charge of the white-ball formats.

Moreover, the ECB also confirmed the appointment of former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming as the Test head coach. Earlier this year, he stepped down as the head coach of Chennai ...