“He is similar to Rohit” - Robin Uthappa’s big claim on England star amid Ashes 2025-26

Former cricketer Robin Uthappa has made a stunning claim, comparing England veteran Joe Root to ex-India skipper Rohit Sharma. Root is currently featuring for England in the second Ashes 2025-26 Test against Australia, where he scored his 40th century.

On Friday, December 5, during a discussion on his YouTube channel, Uthappa said that Root is similar to Rohit in the way they have more time while batting. He stated:

“When I played with him, he was playing T20 cricket after a long time. He was very comfortable with the T20 format, batting with a lot of time. I feel he is similar to Rohit in the way they have time while batting. He creates that setup, and his setup is really beautiful.”

Additionally, in the same video, Uthappa shared a fascinating anecdote about Virat Kohli and the aura he exuded during a domestic game more than a decade ago. He noted that Joe Root has a similar kind of aura, saying:

“He is one of the greatest to play the game (Joe Root). Certain batters I have seen, when they bat on the ground, their aura is different, their energy is different. I remember a Deodhar Trophy game in Indore in 2012-13, when Virat had just started hitting his purple patch, scoring runs. I had known Virat differently before that; we played at RCB, after that I was seeing him for the first time. The aura he possessed that day was like what I have seen for Sachin, Rahul Dravid, Ponting when they were batting. Joe has got that similar aura as well.”

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli will return to action on Saturday, December 6, when India face South Africa in the third and final ODI in Visakhapatnam.

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Australia in control in 2nd Ashes Test despite Joe Root’s century for England

England won the toss and elected to bat in the second Ashes Test. Joe Root starred for the visitors, registering his first century on Australian soil. He remained unbeaten on 138 off 206 balls, hitting 15 fours and one six, while Zak Crawley also contributed 76 for England. For Australia, Mitchell Starc returned impressive figures of 6/75 as England were bowled out for 334 in their first innings.

In response, Jake Weatherald scored his maiden fifty, making 72, while Marnus Labuschagne (65) and skipper Steven Smith (61) also recorded half-centuries. At stumps on Day 2, the hosts were 378/6 after 73 overs, leading by 44 runs, with Alex Carey (46) and Michael Neser (15) at the crease.