Joe root can break Sachin Tendulkar record: Australian legend Ricky Ponting believes England's Joe Root has the potential to surpass both his and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar's most Test runs records. Root, who recently crossed the 12,000-run milestone, is now the seventh-highest run-scorer in Test cricket and is close to the two greatest batsmen in the history of the game.

At 33, Root is just 1,351 runs behind Ponting's 13,378 runs and less than 4,000 runs away from Tendulkar's record of 15,921, the most in Test cricket history. Root can still play cricket for 5 more years and during this time he will have many opportunities to break Sachin's record as well.

Ricky Ponting expressed confidence

Speaking on the latest episode of ICC Review, Ponting praised Root's batting and stressed that if he continues his current form, he can truly scale unprecedented heights. "He potentially can," Ponting said when asked if Root can surpass Tendulkar's mammoth run tally.

Joe Root can break Sachin's record like this

Ricky Ponting said in the ICC review that "He is (more than) 3,000 runs behind at the age of 33. It depends on how many Tests he plays, but if he is playing 10 to 14 Tests a year, and if you are scoring 800 to 1,000 runs a year, it means he will only take three or four years to get there. So he will be there by the age of 37."