Shane Watson feels that this batter will score more runs than Virat Kohli
Joe Root has been enjoying a stellar form with his bat in recent years and that earned him the number one spot in the Men’s ranking for the Test batters. The whole cricket fraternity heaped high praises for him and former Australian all-rounder, Shane Watson was not an exception also. He said that the former England Test skipper will score the most number of Test runs among the fab four batters.
Watson also predicted that this batter only can reach close to Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in Test cricket (15921 runs). Till now, Root has scored 10015 runs in 118 Tests for England, averaging 49.57 runs per innings. Smith has 8010 runs from 85 matches, whereas Kohli has 8043 runs from 101 Tests. Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Williamson has 7289 runs in 87 Tests.
“I think Joe Root is going to finish on top.” – Shane Watson
Speaking on the Review show of the Governing body of Cricket, Watson said that Root has the chance of getting closer to Sachin’s record as he has got a lot of cricket in him. He said: “He’s as good as anyone to be able to get as close as he can. For sure, he’s got a lot of great cricket in front of him, so I think he is going to get very close. Just by seeing where Joe Root is right now, he is the youngest one with Kane Williamson, who is 31 as well. Those two have still got a fair way to go. I think Joe Root is going to finish on top. For the other guys, it depends on how much cricket they continue to play. They’ve still got a lot of cricket left in them.”
Watson also said that the England batter will bat with more freedom in the coming days as he has left the captaincy for the longer format. “Now that he is not captain, he’s going to have greater freedom. The pressure’s just off and I’d be very surprised if he just doesn’t take off again and make the most of the freedom that he’s going to have,” he concluded.
Joe Root will be in action again as England is gearing up to lock horns with the Kiwis in the third Test at Leeds, starting from June 23, 2022.
