"He's not hunting down Sachin Tendulkar" - Former England captain's stunning claim on Joe Root after ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former England white-ball captain Jos Buttler believes ace batter Joe Root wouldn't be thinking too much about surpassing Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar's tally of Test runs. Root is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the format, with 13,409 runs across 286 innings at an average of 51.17.

Tendulkar is at the top of the elite list, amassing 15,921 runs from 329 Test innings at an average of 53.78. Buttler opined that Root wouldn't be paying a lot of attention to the milestone.

However, he reckoned that the 34-year-old has a good chance of going past Tendulkar and becoming the most prolific batter in Test cricket history. Speaking on the YouTube channel, 'For The Love Of Cricket', Buttler said (8:05):

"He's not hunting down Sachin Tendulkar because that's definitely not the way he plays his cricket or how he sees it. But he is number two on an incredibly elite list, with what seems like, if he stays fit, quite an attainable kind of thing, which is absolutely mindblowing."

Former England pacer Stuart Broad was also part of the video. He asked Buttler how it would feel if Root overtook Tendulkar in Mumbai, the latter's home ground.

Buttler cheekily suggested that India would not let that happen and could even call off the game. He added:

"They would call the game off. They wouldn't let it happen."

Joe Root has been in impressive form in England's ongoing five-match home Test series against India. He is his team's second-highest run-scorer in the series, chalking up 403 runs across seven innings at an average of 67.16.

In the recently concluded fourth Test, he produced a stunning 150-run knock from 248 balls in England's only innings. With the innings, he surpassed Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Tests.

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"There is a really good chance that he gets it" - Jos Buttler backs Joe Root to break Sachin Tendulkar's record in Test

Jos Buttler backed Joe Root to overhaul Sachin Tendulkar's Test tally of runs in the coming years. He pointed out that the veteran batter is expected to be part of the English red-ball team for a considerable amount of time.

He reckoned that it was unlikely that Root would announce his retirement in the next two years. Speaking in the same video, Buttler remarked (from 9:50):

"I'd say I'm sort of like 50-50, or maybe a bit more in his favor. I do think there is a really good chance that he gets it. Hunger, I don't ever see being an issue with Root. I don't see that he is going to wake up in the next two or three years and go, 'I don't have the love for batting and playing for England'. He is always going to be in the team; he'd have to be playing terribly to drop Joe Root."

Joe Root will be seen in action next during the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India. England have a 2-1 lead in the rubber. The match will be played at Kennington Oval, London, from July 31 to August 4.

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Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai