England Cricket Team ace batter Joe Root created history the other day. He went on to surpass Alastair Cook’s record for most runs in Test cricket among English cricketers. With his landmark, Joe Root is now the fifth-highest run-getter in Test Cricketer. However, former England great Cook has claimed that Root has a chance of overhauling Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
With 15921 runs, former Indian great Sachin Tendulkar tops the charts in most runs in Test cricket. But Cook believes, Joe Root who now has 12588 can break Sachin’s record.
“I can see him overhauling Sachin Tendulkar’s record. When I retired, I thought there was every chance that my record will be broken. I thought only the effects of captaincy and the hunger that takes out of you would stop him. I think the fact that Ben Stokes has taken over the captaincy has helped Root,” Alastair Cook told BBC.
Alastair Cook backs Joe Root to break Sachin’s record
Despite putting his faith in Joe Root, Cook still believes that Sachin is still the favorite to retain his record. He claimed that a lot of players have been playing for a long time and none has come close to reaching the record set by the Indian maestro.
“You could say Sachin is still the favourite but just. All great players who played for a long time have been lucky with injuries. You just never know what’s around the corner but it has to be something like it that could stop him,” Cook added.
However, he claims that Joe Root is different. Despite playing for a long time, the self-motivation and the hunger to strike for more separates Root from the other cricketers.
“But I don’t see that happening for Root to lose that hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years,” Root concluded.