Will Joe Root climb the summit of Test cricket by breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test cricket? The question continues to remain highly debated. Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, scored 15,921 runs from 200 Tests over a 24-year-long career, a record that back then seemed impossible to break. However, 13 years later, Tendulkar’s record faces a threat in the form of England captain Root, who, with 14,208 runs, trails the Master Blaster by just 1,713 runs. At 35, Root seems to have the time, and given his impeccable home record, overtaking Tendulkar appears only a matter of time.
Adding weight to the belief is the legendary Viv Richards, one of Tendulkar’s idols, who feels there’s no reason why Root can’t do it. Richards hailed Root’s consistency and, although he sounded confident that Tendulkar’s record will eventually be broken, he ensured he passed a cheeky comment to one of England’s all-time greats, Geoffrey Boycott.
“Well, if he’s captain, why not? He is captain at present, so he is in a good place for that. Nothing is wrong with him trying to achieve that. It would be a milestone for him and would certainly send a message to Sir Geoffrey Boycott that the best batter to come out of Yorkshire is not Sir Geoff. The baton would have been passed on to Joe Root,” Richards said on The Test Match Special.
But Root has a new problem
Having said that, Root seems to be battling a new nemesis, and it goes by the name ‘Leg Before Wicket’. Root’s LBW dismissals have significantly climbed of late, with the England batter getting out this way 10 times in his last 13 innings. In fact, all four of his dismissals in the ongoing Test series against Pakistan have been LBWs. Whether it proves to be a hindrance in Root’s journey to the top remains to be seen, but at the moment, the English great isn’t too bothered by the pattern.
“I’ve played this game a long time and I’ve always found ways of solving those problems and working it through. I don’t see this as being any different. There’s a reason why I’ve got 14,000 runs and a reason why I’ve played the best part of 15 years at this level,” Root said in an interaction with BBC.
