'Not my area of expertise': Joe Root on players' alleged pay cut amid COVID-19

England Test skipper Joe Root declined to give an affirmative answer when asked whether the players be given a pay cut by the England Cricket Board (ECB) due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I am sure at some point in the coming weeks there will be a discussion but those discussions will probably take place between the PCA [Professional Cricketers' Association] and the ECB. Until that happens, that is not my area of expertise," ICC quoted Root as saying.

"We just have to concentrate on being as fit as we can be for when we get back playing cricket and making sure we are doing everything we can to look after the community," he added.

England were supposed to play Sri Lanka in a two-Test series in March this year, however it was postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus.

The series between England and Sri Lanka was supposed to be a part of the World Test Championship (WTC).

It is now possible that the players will be forced to play back-to-back series once the cricket resumes.

"It would be a very tough winter, a huge amount of workload, especially on the multi-format players, but we have had some tough winters in the past and found ways to get through them," Root said.

"It would be interesting to see how they would fit it in looking at the schedule as it right now but if it was to go ahead, we would have to be able to adapt, look at the squad sizes we take over and make sure guys weren't blown out and overworked," he added.

The United Kingdom has reported 22,444 cases and 1,411 deaths of to the coronavirus as per the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organisation had termed coronavirus as a pandemic on March 11.