NEW DELHI: Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes that Joe Root has the potential to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test cricket, provided the English batsman maintains his form and drive over the next four years.
Root recently reached the milestone of 12,000 Test runs during the Edgbaston Test against the West Indies, becoming the seventh player in history to achieve this feat in Test cricket. With 12,027 runs in 143 matches at an average of 50.11, including 32 centuries and 63 half-centuries, Root is currently the seventh-highest run-scorer in Test history.
Root is on the verge of surpassing Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who has 12,400 Test runs, and his former England teammate Alastair Cook, who has 12,472 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar remains at the top of the list with 15,921 runs from 200 Tests, followed by Ricky Ponting, who scored 13,378 runs in 168 matches. “He (Root) could potentially do that. He is 33 years old and is over 3,000 runs behind,” Ponting told The ICC Review.
Ponting emphasized that Root’s ability to break Tendulkar’s record will depend on how many Test matches England plays annually. If they play 10 to 14 matches a year and Root continues to score between 800 and 1,000 runs annually, Ponting believes Root could reach the milestone in about four years, by the time he turns 37.
Ponting also highlighted the importance of maintaining hunger for runs, noting that Root’s age is still on his side to aim for the record. “If his hunger’s still there, then there’s every chance that he could do it. In the last couple of years, he has gotten better and better,” Ponting said.
Ponting further noted that Root has successfully overcome his earlier struggle of converting half-centuries into big scores. “Four or five years ago, he was making a lot of 50’s but struggling to convert them into hundreds. Recently, he’s turned that around,” Ponting added. “Now, almost every time he reaches 50, he goes on to make a big hundred. That has been a significant change for him.”