Ben Stokes backs Joe Root to break Sachin Tendulkar's record for most Test runs

England captain Ben Stokes has backed Joe Root to go on and break Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs in Tests. Root went past Alastair Cook to become England's leading run-getter in the longest format of the game on October 9, Wednesday.

In Short

• Root went past the landmark on Day 3 of Multan Test
• Stokes claimed that Root can play until he is 39
• Root has scored more than 1000 Test runs in 2024

England Test captain Ben Stokes has backed Joe Root to go past Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs in the longest format of the game. Root went past Alastair Cook to become the leading run-scorer for England in Tests on Day 3 of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan.

Root got to the landmark with a trademark on-drive as he went past Cook's tally of 12,472 runs by lunch time in Multan. The England Cricket Board released a pre-recorded video of Stokes talking about his teammate and was asked if he could go on to break Tendulkar's record of 15921 runs. The England captain claimed that Root could go on and play until he is 39 and could get atleast close to the landmark, if not go past it.

Pakistan vs England, 1st Test Day 3 Updates

"Look, he is 33. He has played some 100 games in a row. I don't know. He can easily go until he is 37, 38 or even 39. He plays all the Test matches from now until then, I don't see why not. He is too good a player to atleast get close to. I personally will be backing him to go past it," said Stokes.

MOST RUNS IN TEST CRICKET

1. Sachin Tendulkar: Matches: 200 | Runs: 15,921 | Hundreds: 51 | Average: 53.78
2. Ricky Ponting: Matches: 168 | Runs: 13,378 | Hundreds: 41 | Average: 51.85
3. Jacques Kallis: Matches: 166 | Runs: 13,289 | Hundreds: 45 | Average: 55.37
4. Rahul Dravid: Matches: 164 | Runs: 13,288 | Hundreds: 36 | Average: 52.31
5. Joe Root: Matches: 147* | Runs: 12,473 | Hundreds: 34 | Average: 50.91
6. Alastair Cook: Matches: 161 | Runs: 12,472 | Hundreds: 33 | Average: 45.35

Selflessness is Root's greatest attribute

Stokes said that one of the standout features of Root is his selflessness for the team and claimed it would take a long time for a player to come in and break his England record.

"To score that many runs, you have to think that there has to be a bit of selfishness about the player. But everything that he has done with the bat in his hand, has always been about the team. I remember a couple of years ago, he was getting stick for converting his fifties into hundreds. I just couldn't get my head around it."

"From my point of view, when I looked at how many hundreds Joe scored and how many games we have won, that's what I look at."

"The selflessness he has is an incredible attribute for him. He always puts the team first. It's going to take a long, long time for someone to come in and break that record," said Stokes.

Root has shown no signs of slowing down as he has scored more than 1000 runs in 2024 in Tests.