After 168 Tests, Joe Root sits within touching distance of the most famous number in cricket. Sachin Tendulkar retired with 15,921 Test runs, a mark nobody has ever got genuinely close to threatening. Root has. The volume is already there and the gap keeps shrinking with every fresh century. What matters now isn’t whether he can get there, but exactly how many runs stand in the way, and whether a difficult home summer says anything real about the timeline that lies ahead of him.
Comparing Both Careers At The Same Stage
Line the two careers up at an identical point and the picture flips. After 168 Tests, Tendulkar had 13,742 runs at an average of 56.08, with 48 centuries and 55 fifties. Root stands on 14,208, already 466 runs clear of where Tendulkar was at the same stage.
The trade-off is obvious. Root’s average sits lower at 50.38, and his centuries tally of 41 lags behind Tendulkar’s 48 at the same mark. But his 68 fifties already match Tendulkar’s full career total in that column, a sign of relentless conversion even when the hundreds haven’t always followed as quickly as fans might like. Volume is building faster than almost any England batter in the modern era has ever managed.
Joe Root vs Sachin Tendulkar Test record chase
Root now sits second on the all-time Test run-scoring list. He passed Ricky Ponting’s 13,378, Rahul Dravid’s 13,288 and Jacques Kallis’s 13,289 during the India series at Old Trafford in July 2025, a sequence that took barely a fortnight to complete.
The rise has accelerated since he gave up the England captaincy in 2022. Across the 35 Tests that followed, he averaged 57 with 11 centuries. He finished the 2023 to 2025 World Test Championship cycle as its leading run-scorer with 1,968 runs, and in 2024 alone he passed 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year for the fifth time in his career, a mark only one other man has beaten more often.
Root vs Tendulkar: After 168 Tests Each
Player | Tests | Runs | Average | Centuries |
Joe Root (2026, current) | 168 | 14,208 | 50.38 | 41 |
Sachin Tendulkar (after 168 Tests) | 168 | 13,742 | 56.08 | 48 |
Sachin Tendulkar (career total) | 200 | 15,921 | 53.78 | 51 |
The Milestone Number That Matters
Strip away the sentiment, and the target is simple. Tendulkar finished on 15,921, so the number Root actually needs to pass is 15,922. That means 1,714 more runs on top of his current tally of 14,208.
Even a conservative return of 1,000 Test runs a year, below his recent seasonal output, gets him there before the end of 2028. One projection tracking his scoring rate of 2.93 runs per calendar day placed the record falling around late October 2027, when he would be just under 37. England typically play 12 to 15 Tests a season, which leaves him more than enough fixtures to hit the number without needing to play on deep into his 40s.
Questions Over Current Form
The 2026 home summer against Pakistan complicated the story briefly. Root averaged 29.44 across the two-Test series, his second-lowest home season average in 14 years, and was dismissed lbw nine times in his last seven Tests, seven of those coming this year alone.
Root brushed the concern aside, pointing to the weight of runs already behind him as proof the method still works. History backs the shrug. Tendulkar batted on until he was 40, Dravid played until 39, and Ponting, whose tally Root has already overtaken, stretched his own career deep into his late 30s. A dip in swing-friendly English conditions is not the same as a career in decline.
England’s Fixture List And The Finish Line
England’s calendar is Root’s biggest ally. He rarely misses matches, and he has recently returned as Test captain following Ben Stokes’s retirement, which only sharpens the incentive to keep playing every fixture available.
Between the Ashes, tours of South Asia and the ongoing WTC cycle, the opportunities are there, and his average of 59.35 against India across 35 Tests suggests the record is most likely to fall outside England altogether. That is the real shape of the Joe Root vs Sachin Tendulkar Test record chase: a concrete number, a rough two-year window, and fitness as the only variable left that actually matters.
Does Root’s post-captaincy form make him a lock to finish as the all-time leading run-scorer? Have your say in the comments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How many runs does Joe Root need to pass Sachin Tendulkar?
Root needs 1,714 more runs to move past Tendulkar’s all-time record of 15,921. He currently has 14,208 runs from 168 Test appearances at a career average of 50.38.
What is Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time Test run tally?
Tendulkar finished his career with 15,921 runs from 200 Tests at an average of 53.78. He retired in November 2013 with 51 centuries and 68 fifties to his name.
How many Test matches has Joe Root played?
Root has featured in 168 Test matches, scoring 14,208 runs at an average of 50.38. His tally includes 41 centuries and 68 half-centuries across a Test career that began back in 2012.
Is Joe Root actually on track to break the record?
Yes, current projections have him closing in well ahead of Tendulkar’s own pace at the same career stage. Independent estimates place the record falling around late 2027, when Root would be 36.
What is Joe Root’s Test batting average right now?
Root’s career Test average stands at 50.38 from 168 appearances. It dipped to 29.44 during the 2026 home series against Pakistan, his second-lowest home season figure in 14 years.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.