When 2026 began, Joe Root had just turned 35 and it was Sachin Tendulkar’s records were in front of him. At the moment, the England legend is chasing the records of most runs, 100s, 50s, 50+ scores and appearances in Test cricket. All of them belong to Sachin and Root has the chance to break them all. But could he retire before that?

Shubman Gill is the closest all-round challenger on output and conversion. He has 1,849 runs at an average of 54.38 with eight hundreds in the same window, the kind of profile that screams sustained purple patch.

JOE ROOT scored his 41st Test century but England endured another dismal day in the Ashes. Apart from Root’s excellence, there were yet more sloppy shots by England’s batsmen and then the bowlers

Veteran England wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow has hailed his teammate Joe Root for scoring two Test centuries on Australian soil in the ongoing Ashes series. Bairstow has called Root the best player of his generation.

Root, 35, has a central contract until the summer of 2027, when England will look to regain the Ashes on home soil, but England’s greatest ever run-scorer also has his sights set on a fifth tour in Australia in four years.

The real, breathing epitome of Test cricket, Virat Kohli, retired with 9230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85.