Former England cricketer James Foster lavished praise on Joe Root for his performance in Test cricket. He also believes that Root has a very good chance of surpassing cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar in Test cricket to become the leading run-getter in the longest format of the game.
Root is in the form of his life, especially in red-ball cricket and considering his current form there is a debate among fans and former cricketers that the England star will score more Test runs than Sachin. Root just needs 2,949 runs from levelling Sachin's feat of the highest run-tally of 15,921 in red-ball cricket.
Ex-England cricketers have pondered the longevity of Root's career and the possibility of surpassing Sachin's impeccable tally.
Foster weighed in on the possibility of Root going past Sachin and admits he has a good shot at establishing himself as the leading run-scorer in the format.
"Joe is a world-class player. Joe continues to keep evolving his game. He has played so much cricket, but he is still very hungry. He just loves it. Anyone with that ability and quality who still has the hunger to perform and play cricket. He has probably got a very good chance," Foster told ANI.
Root recently featured for England in the Test series against New Zealand where he scored 218 runs, averaging 43.60 in three matches while striking at 83.21. He ended the series by breaking Pakistan great Javed Miandad to become the leading run-scorer in Test cricket against New Zealand. Root surpassed Miandad's tally of 1919 with his 1925 runs.
Notably, Root is also the leading run-getter in Test format against India, with 2846 runs to his name. Root is just the second player to be a leading run-scorer against two nations after Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara.
The Sangakkara is the leading run-scorer in the Test format against Pakistan (2911) and Bangladesh (1816). Root has smashed 1006 runs in the red-ball format in New Zealand, making him the first touring player to achieve the feat.
With eight fifty-plus scores, Root holds the most number of half-centuries by a visiting player in New Zealand. Overall, Root has 12,972 runs to his name, averaging 50.87 in 152 matches, laced with 36 centuries and 65 fifties.
