Joe Root from England has scored 12,027 runs in 143 Test matches and is currently ranked seventh on the all-time list of highest run-scorers in Test cricket.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that Joe Root could possibly break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test cricket.
Root, who is 33 years old, sits at seventh place with 12,027 runs, while Sachin Tendulkar tops the list with 15,921 runs from 200 Tests.
“He (Root) might be able to do it,” Ponting said during an ICC review.
“Root is 33 and is over 3,000 runs behind. It depends on how many Test matches they play, but if they play 10 to 14 Tests a year, and he scores 800 to 1,000 runs a year, then he could reach that mark in about three or four years. That would put him at 37 years old,” said Ponting, who is second on the list with 13,378 runs from 168 Tests.
Ponting mentioned that if Root remains passionate about scoring runs, he could eventually surpass Tendulkar’s record.
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“If he’s still hungry for runs, then he has a good chance. In the last couple of years, he’s improved a lot,” Ricky Ponting said.
“There’s a belief that batters reach their peak in their early 30s, and he’s certainly shown that. The key difference has been his ability to convert starts into big scores.
“A few years ago, he was getting a lot of 50s but struggling to turn them into hundreds. Lately, almost every time he reaches 50, he goes on to make a big hundred. That’s been the real change for him.”
England is set to play a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on August 21 in Manchester.
