Ricky Ponting names the batter who can break Sachin Tendulkar’s record in Test cricket

Ricky Ponting believes Joe Root could be the batter to break Sachin Tendulkar's record in Test cricket, while also praising his recent form.

Ricky Ponting names the batter who can break Sachin Tendulkar’s record in Test cricket

Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar (Via X)

Former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, has stated that England star batter, Joe Root, could go on to surpass Sachin Tendulkar‘s Test runs and become the highest run scorer in Test cricket history.

Root is regarded as one of the top 4 batters in the world along with Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. However, he has been well above his compatriots in Test cricket in the recent few years.

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Ricky Ponting praised Joe Root, highlighting how the England batter has significantly improved over the last few years. Ponting noted that Root seems to have hit his peak in his early 30s, a common period for batters to reach their prime. 

He could potentially do that [on breaking Sachin’s record]. He is 33 years of age (more than) 3,000 runs behind. It depends on 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 1,000 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.
Ricky Ponting via ICC Review

Recently, Root went past the 12,000 runs mark in his Test cricket career. He is not far away from Ricky Ponting’s numbers, who is second in the list of top run scorers in Test cricket’s history with 13378 runs.

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Joe Root has been in a tremendous and consistent form in Test cricket

After the arrival of Brendon McCullum as the head coach of England in Test cricket and Ben Stokes as Test captain, the approach of the England batters has changed. All the batters play fearlessly and go for their shots without fearing the results. They look to score quickly. However, this approach hindered the growth of Root initially as he was throwing away his wicket.

Ricky Ponting names the batter who can break Sachin Tendulkar's record in Test cricket
Joe Root (VIA X)

However, he has realised that slowly and has started playing his natural game yet again. Root has scored 12027 runs in 261 innings at an average of 50.11, which is incredible, to say the least. He needs to score 3,992 runs to surpass Tendulkar’s humongous tally of 15921 runs. In the recent test series against West Indies at home, Root scored his 32nd test hundred. Once he gets his starts, he converts them into big hundreds.

One key area of improvement has been Root’s ability to convert half-centuries into centuries. A few years ago, Root often struggled to turn 50s into 100s, but now, he frequently goes on to score big hundreds once he reaches 50. This change has been a major factor in his recent success.

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