Joe Root was not in the 13-man England squad announced for the three-match ODI series against Ireland. None of the 15 members of the World Cup squad were included in the Ireland series by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). However, at his own request, England included the batter for the first ODI at Headingley against Ireland.

But on Sunday, Harry Brook was named to the final team for the World Cup, replacing Jason Roy. After a hectic summer across all formats, Brook will now take some time off during the series against Ireland.

On the other hand, Root has been struggling with his form for quite some time now. In the last ODI series against New Zealand, he managed to reach the double-digit score in only one of the four matches. Apart from this, Root has batted in only 16 ODI matches after the 2019 World Cup. He is desperate to regain his form before the upcoming World Cup. So he decided to play ODI against Ireland.

Regarding his inclusion, ECB selector Luke Wright said, "Like for a lot of people, he is getting that rhythm of 50-over cricket. Obviously, we don't play much of it in this country, but a lot of those lads haven't played a lot of 50-over cricket, especially someone like Joe.

"He just wanted a bit more time. It's a great thing for someone to still have that desire to keep wanting to do more and more. It shows where he's at with his game and what makes him such a world-class player that, when he doesn't feel quite right, he still wants to tinker and do more. As much as we probably thought he needed a break as well, he just wanted another go."

England and Ireland will meet in the first ODI of the three-match ODI series on September 20. Zak Crawley will lead England's second-string side in the series.