India, June 22 -- The Hail Mary move in the wake of the London nightclub scandal involving Ben Stokes has not gone according to plan for England. With Stokes sidelined amid an ongoing ECB investigation, Joe Root's return to the captaincy has coincided with a difficult phase for the team.

New Zealand bounced back impressively in the second Test at The Oval, forcing England into a do-or-die final match of the series. For Root, the situation feels eerily familiar. The leadership pressures that contributed to his decision to step down as captain in 2022 have resurfaced, at least temporarily.

Yet while England's fortunes remain uncertain, the conversation around Root himself has taken a very different direction.

Scores of 46 and 77 in the s...