Joe Root chasing Sachin Tendulkar's all-time records in Tests has been the hottest topic in cricket after the English star smashed two centuries in a match against Sri Lanka at Lord's. Many fans and cricket pundits are tipping the current world No.1 Test batter to surpass Sachin's record for most runs and most centuries in red-ball cricket.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan took the discussion to the next level by saying Root breaking Tendulkar's record will benefit Test cricket. But Indian cricket fans, including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, questioned Vaughan's comments saying how it will be good for cricket.
Root, 33, recently surpassed big names Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in Test runs tally and also equalled Gavaskar's 34 centuries record. With 12,402 runs, Root is still 3,519 runs behind Sachin's record tally in Test but has been in Sensational form with almost 1000 runs in 2024.
Gavaskar countered Vaughan's comments saying how it would benefit cricket if the Englishman held any record over Indian.
"Recently, I heard someone saying it would be good for Test cricket if Joe Root overtook Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs and centuries in Test match cricket," Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his Sports Star column.
"Please tell us what’s wrong with Test cricket presently when Tendulkar is owning the record and how will Test cricket be better if (and that’s a huge if) an Englishman goes on to hold it. In what way will it be better? Kindly enlighten us.
The former cricketer also hit out at the 'false narrative' by overseas media showing India not playing a role in the promotion of Test cricket. Gavaskar pointed out the number of Tests India are playing each season and termed the narrative as a 'ridiculous notion'.
"For some strange reason, there’s a perception overseas that BCCI does not like Test cricket. That’s a ridiculous notion, as India play more than half a dozen Test matches every season, be it at home or away. Just because the IPL is massively successful doesn’t mean BCCI is not interested in promoting Test cricket, but that’s the narrative that’s being peddled by the overseas media," Gavaskar added.
