The Australian legendary batter Ricky Ponting thinks Joe Root might be able to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become Test Cricket’s greatest run scorer.
Recently, Root crossed his 12000 run mark to become the seventh-highest run scorer of all time and will be looking on his own and Sachin’s overall record to tumble.
The English right-hander is within 1351 runs of Ponting 13, 378, and less than 4,000 runs adrift of Tendulkar 15, 921, and could cut into this even further during his Sri Lanka tour of England in 2024.
“He could potentially do that,” former Australian batter told host Sanjana Ganesan on ICC review. “He is 33 years of age…(more than) 3000 runs behind. It depends how many Test matches they play, but if they’re playing 10 to 14 Test matches a year and if you’re scoring 800 to 1000 runs a year, then that sort of says he’s only three or four years off getting there. So that’ll take him to 37 (years of age). If his hunger’s still there, then there’s every chance that he could do it.”
Will Joe Root overtake Sachin Tendulkar to become the leading run-scorer in Tests? 🤔
Ricky Ponting has an answer 👇https://t.co/Cs0H4ZohF1
— ICC (@ICC) August 15, 2024
Root scored his 32nd century during the test series in the West Indies tour of England in Nottingham in what was the fourth time he has reached triple figures since the start of last year.
Joe Root’s test century tally is still behind Tendulkar’s massive tally of 51 Ponting noted how much better the England batter had become in converting his good starts into big scores in recent times.
“He is someone that in the last couple of years has got better and better,” Ponting added. There’s always talk about batters reaching their prime in their early 30s and he’s certainly done that.
“It’s been his conversion rates being the big thing. Four or five years ago, he was making a lot of 50s and struggling to go on and make hundreds and he’s gone the other way recently.
“Almost every time he gets to 50 now, he goes on and makes a big hundred. So that’s been the real turnaround for him,” he concluded.
Root will be leading the batting lineup in the upcoming Sri Lanka tour of England 2024. The first test of the tour will begin on August 21 at Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
