Joe Root could potentially break Sachin Tendulkar's record: Ricky Ponting

Star England batter Joe Root is considered as one of the top four batters in the world. He belongs to the fans and pundits claimed ‘fab four’ list consisting of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith. The right-handed batter recently crossed the 12,000-run milestone in Test cricket. Meanwhile, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has made a bold prediction that Root could break legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record. 

The 33-year-old has scored 12027 runs in 261 innings at an average of 50.11. It is worth noting he is just a stone’s throw away from breaking Ponting’s record of 13378 runs. Speaking of Tendulkar’s record, the England veteran needs 3,992 runs to surpass the monumental mark of 15921. Moreover, the Yorkshire-born will travel to Sri Lanka for the red-ball series, and the conditions in the sub-continent dearer to batters, he will eye an El Dorado stepping onto the Lankan soil.

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"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,” said Ponting on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

It's been his conversion rates being the big thing: Joe Root

Root has been in great touch from the start of the calendar year. During the recent series against West Indies, he notched up a century, making his 32nd overall and fourth since the year commenced. Akin to Kohli, Root is known to taste blood after a good start and convert his starts into significant centuries. Ponting highlighted the very aspect and lauded the batter for capitalising on the peak 30s tradition.

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"He is someone that in the last couple of years has got better and better. There's always talk around batters reaching their prime in their early 30s, and he's certainly done that. It's been his conversion rates being the big thing. Four or five years ago, he was making a lot of 50s and struggling to go on and make hundreds, and he's gone the other way recently. Almost every time he gets to 50 now, he goes on and makes a big hundred. So that's been the real turnaround for him,” he added.