Joe Root 'driven' to be 'No.1' and break Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record: 'He's got the hunger'

Ollie Pope believes Joe Root will be highly driven to be No.1 and break Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record in Tests.

England No.3 batter Ollie Pope believes Joe Root will be really “driven" to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of most Test runs. On Day 3 of the Manchester Test against India, the England batter registered his 38th Test ton, and with this, he also went past the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Tests.

Joe Root currently has 38 Test centuries.

Joe Root was eventually dismissed for 150 by Ravindra Jadeja. The right-handed batter is now 2,500 runs away from Sachin Tendulkar in Tests. Pope believes Root would want to become “No.1” and the former England captain definitely has the hunger.

Pope also stated that he wouldn't be surprised if Root eventually goes past Sachin Tendulkar in the elusive list. Currently, Root has 13,409 runs, while Sachin called time on his career after scoring 15,921 runs.

Root has 38 Test centuries while Sachin Tendulkar had 51. While breaching the Test ton record seems a bit far-fetched, the record for most runs is well within the sights of Root, considering he has amassed 21 centuries in the last four years.

“I think he loves playing for England in Test cricket more than anything. So I am sure, if his body allows, then I am sure he will have the hunger to play. I'm not sure how many games he needs. He'll obviously be driven to be the No.1,” Pope told reporters.

“He just wants to keep playing for as long as he can. The excitement he still has to play Test cricket whenever we rock up, he has the biggest smile on his face right at the start of a series. So, I wouldn't be surprised if he can chase it down because of the hunger he has,” he added.

‘Root wasn’t aware'

Pope also revealed that Root wasn't aware of how many runs he needed to go past Ricky Ponting in the leading run-scorers list. However, he added that the milestone is definitely cool and something to be proud of.

“No, he would not have been aware of that. I don't think he's a big one for landmarks. He's not a massive one for that, but I think it was pretty cool today. Becoming the second-highest run-scorer is just incredible. I'm sure he knew what the number was. He is not a guy who wants to be shy about those things as well,” said Pope.

Speaking of the Manchester Test, England at stumps on Day 3 reached the score of 544/7, extending their lead to 186. Ben Stokes and Liam Dawson are unbeaten for the hosts.