Former West Indies captain Viv Richards has supported England batter Joe Root in breaking batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs scored in Test cricket history. England batter Root has so far smashed 14,208 runs in 307 Test innings and is not far behind Tendulkar’s tally of 15,921 runs as well.

Speaking on Test Match Special, Richards said, “Well, if he’s captain, why not? He is captain at present, so he is in a good place for that. Nothing is wrong with him trying to achieve that. It would be a milestone for him and would certainly send a message to Sir Geoffrey Boycott that the best batter to come out of Yorkshire is not Sir Geoff. The baton would have been passed on to Joe Root.”

While the debate continues over whether Joe Root can achieve the stunning record, his father recently gave a clear verdict.

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“I don’t think so. The last time he was captain… one of the years, he scored 1,700 runs. He’s proved that being captain doesn’t tend to affect his batting. As long as he stays fit and focused and he’s still got a desire to play, there’s no reason he shouldn’t get somewhere near Sachin’s record,” Matt Root said in a conversation with talkSPORT Breakfast.

Root recently shared his concerns over the growing trend of being vulnerable to leg-before-wicket dismissals. However, Root also said that he has been playing cricket for a long time and he isn’t too bothered about the pattern.

“I’ve played this game a long time and I’ve always found ways of solving those problems and working it through. I don’t see this as being any different. There’s a reason why I’ve got 14,000 runs and a reason why I’ve played the best part of 15 years at this level,” Root had told the BBC as well.