Can Joe Root break Sachin Tendulkar's record of most runs in Tests?

The former England skipper and the modern-day batting legend, Joe Root, added another feather to his glorious cap in the Tests. With the 34-run knock against Zimbabwe on the first day of the ongoing one-off Test, Root became only the fifth batter to achieve the milestone of 13,000 runs in the longest format of the game.

The veteran Englishman achieved this historic feat on the first ball of the 80th over on the first day, when he scored his knock’s 28th run with a single off Zimbabwe pacer Victory Nyauchi. Alongside being the highest run scorer in the Tests among the active cricketers, he is just behind three former cricketing greats, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Rahul Dravid, to achieve the record of Sachin Tendulkar’s most runs in Tests.

Given that, here in this article, we’ll look at the chances of Joe Root breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in the traditional format of the game.

Also Read: ‘They don’t come to the training and see…’ – Joe Root comes out in support of his teammates over recent criticism by former players

Joe Root eyes Sachin Tendulkar’s legendary milestone in Tests

Notably, former India legend, Sachin Tendulkar scored 15921 runs in his iconic 24-year-long Test career and is still the highest run scorer in the format, even after almost 12 years of his retirement. Joe Root is now just 2,915 runs away from Sachin’s record. Considering a few factors, it looks quite possible for Root to break this record and register his name in the history books.

The first one is the age, as England star is now 34 and Sachin had completed those runs by the age of 38 or 39. So, if Root plays till that age, it seems very much on the cards that he might end his career as the highest run scorer in the Tests. Secondly, Root’s current batting form and consistency for the last few years have been the most talked-about topics in Test cricket. Last but not least, the 34-year-old doesn’t seem to have any injury concerns, and his fitness is also a big positive for him to continue and focus on Test cricket for a long time.

Looking at the upcoming five-match Test series between England and India, a lot of fans and experts are expecting that Joe Root might become the second-highest run-scorer in Tests by the end of the Test series against India.

Also Read: Steve Smith equals Joe Root for unique yet massive record in Test cricket