"He's got a serious chance" - Former India batter's massive statement on possibility of Joe Root breaking Sachin Tendulkar's all-time Test record

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Joe Root has a serious chance of surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's world record tally of most runs in Test cricket. Manjrekar pointed out that there are hardly any weaknesses in Root's batting, adding that he will get a chance to face some weak opponents as well.

Former England captain Root smashed his 38th Test ton against India in Manchester on Friday, July 25. He is now joint-fourth on the list of batters with the most Test hundreds. During his 150-run knock, the 34-year-old also surpassed Ricky Ponting (13,378) and moved to second place on the list of batters with the most Test runs. He has 13,409 runs to his name, with only Tendulkar (15,921) above him.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar backed Root to go past Tendulkar's record Test tally. While hailing the England legend, he said:

"I don't see any red flags with Joe Root. He gets out to Bumrah outside off, but there aren't many like Bumrah around. Fitness wise, he's built just right. He doesn't have a weight issue. Virat Kohli had a big weakness to deal with and that actually stunted his growth in the final few years. "England play a lot of Test cricket and I see him having a good chance of getting there. Eventually when he gets very close, I don't know what he will do. We have examples of people, out of respect, not getting there. But, he's got a serious chance of doing it only because he's a collector of runs," Manjrekar went on to add.

The 60-year-old also pointed out that there are a few weak bowling attacks in Test cricket, which should also aid his cause. Manjrekar explained:

"All he needs to make his job easier are some easy tours and there are some easy teams and bowling attacks in today's world. Tendulkar perhaps didn't have as many."

Since the start of 2021, Root has played 60 Test matches in which he has scored 5,586 runs at an average of 56.42, with 21 hundreds and 17 half-centuries.

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"India were lucky to have him after 150" - Manjrekar on Root's brilliant ton on Day 3 of Manchester Test

England resumed Day 3 of the Manchester Test at 225-2, with Root unbeaten on 11 overnight. He looked in little trouble as he cruised past a hundred and went on to reach 150. It needed a beauty from Ravindra Jadeja to stump Root. Reflecting on the batter's supreme knock, Manjrekar opined that India must consider themselves lucky that Root did not carry on to reach a double ton.

"India were lucky to have him, when they got him after 150, because this guy has got big double hundreds as well. A few yardsticks for greatness - one is when they see a bowling attack like this and pitch conditions like these, it's almost like they get a hundred at will. That was something that you saw," he stated.

At stumps on Day 3 of the Manchester Test, England were 544-7 in their first innings, with a significant lead of 186 runs. Skipper Ben Stokes was batting on 77, and all-rounder Liam Dawson was on 21.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert