Joe Root’s recent run of form in Test cricket has put him head and shoulders ahead of his contemporaries. The former England captain has been peeling of centuries for fun and given his exploits, he’s been tipped to surpass at least one gigantic record held by the great Sachin Tendulkar – widely considered as one of the finest batters to have played the game.
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Tendulkar retired with a plethora of records to his name in Tests and ODIs with few of them considered untouchable. However, Root could set a new benchmark in Tests for the most runs in the format’s history as he’s now just 3,519 runs away from drawing level with the iconic cricketer.
Tendulkar retired with 15921 runs in Tests and the 33-year-old Root has taken his tally to 12,402 runs so far. Should the Englishman continue his current form and maintain fitness, he could surpass the Indian.
England batting legend Ian Bell though feels that Root isn’t someone who will be overthinking about the impending milestone.
And regardless of whether Root breaks Tendulkar’s record or not, he will certainly go down in history as England’s greatest.
“He’s played incredibly well in the last 12 months. I don’t think he’s overthinking too much what’s ahead. He’s just sort of living in the moment as we are,” Bell told PTI.
“To think that he can even get close to someone like Sachin, a real great of the game, someone that we’ve all admired growing up, as a hero to not just people and fans in India, but around the world. To think that Joe could get close is an amazing achievement on his behalf. He’ll go down as England’s greatest batsman. There’s no doubt whether he does get to Sachin or not,” he added.
Earlier this year, former England captain Michael Vaughan had predicted Root to surpass Tendulkar’s record and raised eyebrows by claiming that should it happen, it will be the “best thing that ever happens to cricket”.
“Even if he goes on, I still think he will carry on. If Joe goes past Sachin, it will be the best thing that ever happens to cricket, because there’s no way BCCI would want an England player at the top of the list. They’ll want an Indian at the top so that will secure Test match cricket because it’ll take forever for someone to get past him,” Vaughan had said.
Another batting great Sunil Gavaskar had questioned Vaughan without taking his name as why is it so wrong that the current record is held by an Indian.
“Recently, I heard someone saying it would be good for Test cricket if Joe Root overtook Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs and centuries in Test match cricket. Please tell us what’s wrong with Test cricket presently when Tendulkar is owning the record and how will Test cricket be better if (and that’s a huge if) an Englishman goes on to hold it. In what way will it be better? Kindly enlighten us,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
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