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Follow UsJoe Root, who is just 71 runs behind Sir Alastair Cook as England’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket, is also the closest to breaking India’s Sachin Tendulkar’s world record for most runs in the red-ball format. However, that’s not the milestone that is driving Root to play ‘Test cricket a lot longer’.
"I see myself playing Test cricket for a lot longer. It is not like I am going to get to a certain mark or number and say I am done now. I just want to keep enjoying the game and keep playing,” the former England captain was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times during the pre-match press conference ahead of the first Test against Pakistan on October 5 (Saturday).
England are in Pakistan for a three-match Test series, their penultimate in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. The first two games will be played in Multan followed by the final Test in Rawalpindi.
Also Read: How long will it take for Root to surpass Sachin?
Root, who has 12402 runs in 146 Tests, is only 3,519 runs behind Sachin's elusive feat of 15,921 Test runs. At just 33 years of age, he has lots of matches and time by his side to go past the Indian great. But if that is not driving him to play more, then what is?
"I think you judge yourself on how many games you can affect and how many games you can help win. A big driver for me is how many times you can contribute to winning games for England. I think the mindset of trying to be successful in whatever conditions are in front of you is a good enough driver for me to keep going, keep enjoying, and keep playing,” said the Yorkshire-born.
Root has averaged 55.84, scoring 4579 runs in 49 Tests since 2021. This is the most number of runs by anyone amongst all the fab-four players i.e. Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Root.
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