Joe Root, still only 33, already has 34 Test hundreds and 12,377 runs in the longest format.
During his current purple run, England’s Joe Root has entered the debate over who the greatest Test batter of all time is. Root just eclipsed Alastair Cook as England’s all-time leading Test scorer, scoring hundreds in both innings in the second Test against Sri Lanka. Root is only 33 years old and already has 34 Test centuries, as well as 12,377 runs in the longest format. Root, a member of Test cricket’s current ‘Fab 4’, is ahead of his teammates Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Virat Kohli.
When asked to select the best Test batter, former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik admitted that he chose Kohli even though the numbers indicated that Root was the superior performer.
“Many would tell you that Joe Root is the player, but in my heart, I’ve watched Kohli play in close quarters for the longest time—more than ten years. I am aware of how much he enjoys playing in major events and series. In a Cricbuzz video, Karthik stated, “And if someone asks him questions, he will come to you so strongly that you will be thinking, ‘Wow, why did I even ask that question?”
Moreover, Karthik stated that he would like his old teammate Kohli of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to bat for him forever.
“If you had to ask me to bat for my life, it would definitely be Virat Kohli.” Of course, “said he.
Kohli achieved his final century in July 2023 while playing the West Indies. Only once in his previous four innings has he scored 50 or more since then.
With 29 hundreds to his credit, Kohli has amassed 8,848 runs from 113 Tests. In the meantime, Root has an astounding average of 50.93 and 12,377 runs from 145 Tests.
