Joe Root can certainly break Sachin Tendulkar's Test record, says Sunil Gavaskar

Breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of 15,921 Test runs is a "very very difficult" task, but Joe Root could achieve it if he continues with his current form, according to India legend Sunil Gavaskar.

Last week, Root joined the iconic 10K club in Test cricket, becoming the joint-youngest player to get to the 10,000 run mark. Since then, there have been quite a few suggestions about the Englishman being a major candidate who likely could go past Tendulkar's historic Test record.

Root recently surpassed Gavaskar in the list of most Test runs and is 12th in the list of leading run-scorer in the longest format. Even though Root is nearly 6,000 runs away from Tendulkar's landmark, the former India captain believes age is on Root's side.

"That is an insurmountable record because we are talking about another almost 6000 runs, which means you would have to score about 1000 runs or 800 runs over the next 8 years for you to get there.

"But anything is possible in the game. We first thought Richard Hadlee's 431 wouldn't break, but that was overtaken. Then we thought of Courtney Walsh's 519... So, I mean look where we are going. (It is) not impossible, but very very difficult. Joe Root has got age on his side (31 years old). He certainly can (break the record) if he can maintain that enthusiasm and go on," Gavaskar told India Today.

One of the issues Root will have to deal with is burnout, as per Gavaskar. The latter also gave the example of former England captain Alastair Cook, who was previously looked on as the player who could break Tendulkar's record. However, Cook ended up retiring at the age of just 33 owing to fatigue.

"Alastair Cook retired but he is still playing First-Class cricket. Sometimes, if you are playing around the clock, your form can also drop because there is mental tiredness that comes in. Root is scoring 150+ scores but it can take a toll on him, mentally and physically," added Gavaskar.

Root, who made his Test debut for England in 2012, now has 10,194 runs to his name in 119 Tests, including 27 hundreds and 53 half-centuries. He averages close to 50 in the red-ball game.

Last week, in the ongoing second Test against New Zealand, Root scored the 27th Test century, his 10th since the start of 2021.