"When I saw him..."- Sachin Tendulkar's massive statement on Joe Root approaching his test record

Joe Root is the second-highest run-getter in test cricket.

Batting great Sachin Tendulkar has reacted to England Cricket Team batter Joe Root nearing his record in test cricket. He lauded the right-hander, saying that going past 13000 runs in the longest format of the game is a remarkable achievement. 

England batter Joe Root has turned into a beast in the longest format of the game. Since the last few years, the batter has hardly put a foot wrong in his career and his scoring truckloads of runs, shattering multiple records and creating several. 

Joe Root, ever since he left the test captaincy, has been remarkable. With no pressure of being the leader, he has brought his best and is approaching Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in the longest format of the game. Notably, the batting great ended with 15,921 runs in his test career from 200 matches. 

Joe Root, during the test series against the Indian Cricket Team, became the second-highest run-getter in the format. He had a sensational series yet again as he hammered over 500 runs and was the leading run-getter for his team in the five-match series, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Joe Root currently has 13,543 runs in his career so far at an average of 51.29 with 39 centuries and 66 fifties. With the pace he is going and scoring runs, it won’t be a surprise if he ends up breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record. 

I knew at that very moment that he would be a big player – Sachin Tendulkar on Joe Root

When asked about Joe Root nearing his record in tests, Sachin Tendulkar said that when he saw the England batter for the first time in 2012, he told his teammates that this player would be the future of England. He highlighted how, at a young age, Root was able to assess the wicket and knew the importance of rotating the strike. Speaking on Reddit, he said: 

“To have gone past 13000 runs is a remarkable achievement, and he’s still going strong. When I saw him for the first time in Nagpur in 2012 during his debut Test, I told my teammates that they were watching the future captain of England. What impressed me most was the way he was able to assess the wicket and how he rotated the strike. I knew at that very moment that he would be a big player.”

Post the Covid era, Root has hammered 5720 runs from 61 matches (111 innings) at an average of 56.63 with 22 hundreds and 17 fifties. Before that, the right-hander was often criticised for not converting his starts. 

However, he worked on his game and is now the No. 1-ranked batter in the ICC test rankings. He would be eager to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record and help his team win the ongoing edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).

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