Joe Root recently became the 14th player to reach 10,000 Test runs and former selector Saba Karim feels he has left the rest of the ‘Fab 4’ behind.
Joe Root is the toast of the cricket world right now after becoming only the 14th batter to score over 10,000 runs in Tests. He became just the second England batter after Alastair Cook to score 10,000 Test runs during a match-winning hundred against New Zealand at Lord’s on Sunday. The 31-year-old Yorkshireman’s typically composed 115 not out took England, who had been faltering at 69 for four, to a target of 277 and a five-wicket victory over the World Test champions with more than a day to spare.
Root’s performance has put him “above everyone” among the ‘Fab Four’ of modern-day cricket which includes Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, according to former BCCI selector Saba Karim.
“He has gone far ahead. If we see England’s batting, only Joe Root’s name is coming up again and again. It means Joe Root has not got support from the other end. If we talk about India, with Virat Kohli there is always support like KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant among other. That is the situation in New Zealand and Australia too. Even in overseas conditions like in India or in Sri Lanka, Root has singlehandedly won England matches,” Karim said in an interview to India News Sports.
“Joe Root has left the other three batters far behind in the last two years. Whether we talk about consistency, technique or temperament, in all these aspects Joe Root is above everyone at the moment.”
Karim was also impressed with the fact that Root’s ton against New Zealand came in the fourth innings.
“It’s never easy to score a ton in the fourth innings. That too against such a team which has got strong bowling attack. Trent boult, Kyle Jamieson, Colin de Grandhomme…New Zealand have so many good bowlers. If somebody is batting well in the fourth innings, it shows that the guy is strong both technically and mentally,” he said.
Root’s current Test batting average is a fraction under 50, the mark of an all-time great, with his tally of 26 hundreds at this level exceeded for England only by the retired Cook’s 33.