Sachin Tendulkar made his debut before I was born: Joe Root

England talismanic batter Joe Root has opened up on the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar after emerging as the second-leading run-scorer in the longest format of the game, surpassing Ricky Ponting in the elite list.

On the second day of the Manchester Test against India, Root went past the legendary Australian captain Ponting to stand at the second spot among the batters with the most runs in Test cricket, accumulating 13409 runs in 157 Tests.

However, he is still 2513 runs away from reaching the summit position as Sachin Tendulkar still holds the pole position with 15921 runs from 200 Tests. Root fondly recalled his memory of sharing the field for the first time in the 2012 Nagpur Test.

"He (Sachin Tendulkar) made his Test debut before I was born. To be playing on the same ground as him, to get the chance to play against him was incredibly cool. He was someone I grew up watching, admiring, and trying to learn from. To be on the same field, watching him go about things throughout that series-it was a memorable experience. I'll never forget it,” Root told BBC Sport.

During his Test cricket journey, Root went past legendary batters like Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, Alastair Cook, Rahul Dravid, and Jacques Kallis. However, when he was asked if he was looking to go past Sachin’s record, he was quick to add that he aims to win matches for his national team.

"It's not something I focus on. Those sorts of things should take care of themselves. The aim has to be winning matches, setting them up if we're batting first, or chasing down targets if we're in the second innings. It might sound a bit boring or methodical, but ultimately that's what I need to do to help England win-and that's why we play the game,” he added.

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