Whenever Joe Root, who reached 14,000 Test runs on Saturday, goes past Sachin Tendulkar to become the highest run-scorer in the longest format of the game, will he be considered better than the Indian genius? Not by the people who have seen both cricketers in action but those who may have not seen them play might be inclined to go by numbers. As far as comparisons are concerned, Root can be considered in the same vein as Tendulkar when one is discussing data, but when one looks at the other aspects of batsmanship, the difference between the two is quite big.
To begin with, aesthetically, there is no comparison, even though Joe Root is quite pleasing to the eye. Tendulkar’s shot-making was poetry in motion. If you have to teach young kids how to play a cover-drive, a straight drive, sweep, paddle-sweep, upper cut and so many other shots, you will have to pick the Tendulkar manual. A man who has drawn comparisons with someone considered the greatest batsman the world has ever seen — Sir Donald Bradman — can’t be outdone by Root for sure. And we have just begun, discussing only aesthetic and technical aspects.
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Then, Tendulkar was an all-format force. In ODIs, he scored 18,426 across 463 games at an average of 44.83. Root, though prolific, has only played 189 games and recently returned to the format after more than five years. He has not played T20Is since 2019.
So, where exactly Joe Root lags behind?
So, you see, Root is focusing on Test cricket for many past years. And when you focus on just one format — and England play a lot of Test matches — and you are a good enough batsman, the numbers will grow. The quality of bowling is also quite sub-standard in the last few years, maybe with the exception of Australia, India and South Africa. You will also be surprised that until the last Ashes, Root had not scored a century in Australia. Tendulkar, on the other hand, played both Tests and ODIs relentlessly and picked up serious injuries now and then. He played bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, and many more.
Tendulkar also, towards the end of his career, played in the Indian Premier League and piled on the runs. He was chosen the Most Valuable Player in 2010. Root, on the other hand, only played a handful of games in the league but failed to make any impression. If truth be told, he didn’t belong there.
So, Root appears to have limitations in white-ball cricket, especially in the shortest format. Then Tendulkar’s runs in the first 10 years or so came for a weak Indian team, and he had to play under pressure more often than not. The pressure of expectations from one billion people. The England batter never had to experience that.
Root’s case is pretty much similar to that of Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, who scored more than 12,000 Test runs, but is not that respected as a batter. If he makes it to an all-time XI — which is quite rare — it’s mostly on the basis of his wicketkeeping as a bonus.
Root is definitely special in his own way. He has played some wonderful innings over the years. His double century in Chennai in 2021 in the opening Test had certainly stunned India. Give credit where credit is due. His presence has enriched the game for sure. But it’s a different thing to score a lot of runs, and totally another thing against whom you make them, where you make them, how you make them and when exactly you make them. 35-year-old Root still needs 1,900 plus runs before he goes past Tendulkar. He may also surpass Tendulkar’s record of 51 Test tons. He will need 12 more to do that. Whether or not he manages to surpass those great feats, fans will do well to remember that while he is an England great, he is not in the echelons of greatest batters of all time like Bradman, Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Virat Kohli or Sunil Gavaskar. There are more names in that illustrious list.
