Sunil Gavaskar On Whether Joe Root Can Break Sachin Tendulkar's Record Of Most Runs In Test Cricket

Sunil  Gavaskar knows a thing or two about scoring runs in Test cricket. The Indian batting legend was the first batter to complete 10,000 runs in Test cricket and he has given his verdict on the latest entrant to the elite club - Joe Root. The former England captain has been in devastating form with the bat and has been scoring centuries at will in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. There is a lot of discussion about whether the 31-year-old Root can pose a threat to the all-time run scoring record of Sachin Tendulkar. Gavaskar has said that anything is possible in sport but it is going to be a very tough task even for someone with Root's level of consistency.

"That is an insurmountable record because we are talking about another almost 6000 runs, which means you would have to score about 1000 runs or 800 runs over the next 8 years for you to get there," Gavaskar was quoted as saying to India Today.

"Joe Root has got age on his side (31 years old). He certainly can (break the record) if he can maintain that enthusiasm and go on.

"Alastair Cook retired but he is still playing first class cricket. Sometimes, if you are playing around the clock, your form can also drop because there is mental tiredness that comes in. Root is scoring 150+ scores but it can take a toll on him, mentally and physically," he added.

The veteran commentator gave the example of the most Test wickets record and said that records do get broken as well.

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"Anything is possible in the game. We first thought Richard Hadlee's 431 wouldn't break, but that was overtaken. Then we thought of Courtney Walsh's 519... So, I mean look where we are going. (It is) not impossible, but very very difficult."

Tendulkar had a 24-year career, in which