England test captain Joe Root has been making steady progress after falling ill during the fifth Ashes Test. He was taken to the hospital to receive treatment for stomach flu but since then has made ready progress and has returned to training on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old was forced to retire hurt on the final day in the Sydney defeat that gave Australia a 4-0 Test series. But he has come back and Jos Buttler said that he is better than before. However, he has been asked to take some rest and skip this year's Indian Premier League ahead of the home Test series against India and Pakistan by England coach Trevor Bayliss. England Test captain Joe Root is expected to be fit for the first ODI against Australia on Sunday in Melbourne.

Root, however, remains keen to play in limited overs competitions to prepare himself for the next year's 50-over World Cup in England. "We had that discussion a few days ago, I suggested to him that he shouldn't play, that he should have a break," Bayliss was quoted as saying by British media on Tuesday. "He feels that whenever he's had a break in the last couple of years, it's always been a T20 series. He wants to play in 50-over World Cups and T20 World Cups. He thinks if he keeps missing all the T20 cricket he's just going to fall behind and not be up to speed when those come along. There are difficult decisions to make."

England are scheduled to play five one-day internationals against Australia followed by a Twenty20 tri-series with the hosts and New Zealand which starts on February 3.