It is this constant urge to improve and not rest on the laurels that separate the great from the ordinary. Root is well on the way to becoming one.
He may be the leading run scorer in 2016 at 1,471. He may be batting gloriously to average 50.72. He may be England's highest run-scorer, and second behind Virat Kohli, for this series.
Yet, England's No. 3 Joe Root took to batting practice on the road in the stadium premises on the eve of the fifth Test just for about half-an-hour to work on a few technical areas after none of the teams could practise in the nets on Thursday.
It is this constant urge to improve and not rest on the laurels that separate the great from the ordinary. Root is well on the way to becoming one.
The move paid off as it helped him score 88 on the opening day of the fifth Test here on Friday and was looking good for a big innings when a successful Decision Review System by India did him in.
"My feet was all over the place in Mumbai against the seamers," Root said here after the first day's play. "I wanted to iron a few things out. We tried the tennis courts, we tried to do that away from the cameras, to be honest, in case it went pear-shaped.
"Obviously, the nets weren't ready and it was the only surface we could find. A few of the local guys helped and we got a few of the things sorted. It was nice to have that peace of mind going into today (Friday), just being able to not worry about any technical issues.
"I and Ramps (batting consultant Mark Ramprakash) targeted for about half-an-hour and some things just clicked into place and felt good. It was just nice to clear my head and be clear going into today's game."
For Root, playing on the road was like going back to his younger days and playing in the streets.
"You think about how lucky we are with the kind of practice facilities and everything we get in international cricket. So, it was like going back to being a kid again, remember what it's like to play on the street. It's one of the reasons why you look to get into cricket," Root said.
The effort worked in relaxing his mind. "It's just pressure and thinking about the game, so just enjoy batting again. That feeling, it just relaxed me. I don't think I am going to do that anytime soon if there are wickets available but it was quite nice to do that," he said.
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