Joe Root has been tipped to overhaul Sachin Tendulkar as Test cricket’s all-time highest run-scorer after he surpassed Sir Alastair Cook’s England record.
Root passed his former captain Cook’s mark of 12,472 runs in the morning session of the third day of England’s first Test against Pakistan in Multan on Wednesday.
That still leaves him more than 3,000 runs short of Tendulkar’s 15,921 runs but, with Root aged only 33, Cook believes the India great’s tally is within reach.
“I can see him overhauling Sachin Tendulkar’s record,” said Cook, summarising for BBC radio’s Test Match Special coverage.
“When I retired, I thought there was every chance that my record would be broken. I thought only the effects of captaincy and the hunger that takes out of you would stop him.
“You could say Sachin is still the favourite, but just. All great players who played for a long time have been lucky with injuries, but I don’t see Root losing that hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years.”
Cook, who retired from Test cricket in 2018, believes Root has been given a new lease of life by relinquishing the England captaincy in 2022.
Current skipper Ben Stokes stepped into the breach and said Root’s selflessness “sets him apart from anybody else who is going to play for England for a long time”.
Stokes added: “He always puts the team first, and the fact that he’s got so many runs is just a bonus for us. He’s an incredible player.
“It’s going to take a long, long time for someone to come in and break that record. Just a great bloke. And an unbelievable feat to score that many runs.”
Ex-England captain Mike Atherton called Root “an absolute champion” and “one of our best players, if not the best player we’ve had”.
Fellow former skipper Nasser Hussain praised Root’s grace under pressure, saying: “Throughout those 12 years he’s played with a smile on his face, which we all know is not easy.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer added his voice to the tributes, writing on social media: “Congratulations to Joe Root on becoming England’s leading Test run scorer. A fantastic achievement from an outstanding cricketer who just gets better and better.”
All-time record run scorers in Test cricket
PlayerMatchesRunsSachin Tendulkar20015921Ricky Ponting16813378Jacques Kallis16613289Rahul Dravid16413288Joe Root147*12527*Alastair Cook16112472Kumar Sangakkara13412400Brian Lara13111953Shivnarine Chanderpaul16411867Mahela Jayawardene14911814*Test match ongoing