Can Root break Tendulkar's record? Cook gives his verdict

NEW DELHI: Joe Root has the potential to overtake the great Sachin Tendulkar as the most prolific run scorer in

Test cricket

history, according to former

England

captain Alastair Cook.
During the current series against Pakistan in Multan,

Root

overtook Cook as England's top scorer in Test cricket.
The 39-year-old found it difficult to express his emotions after seeing his friend surpass him to become England's most decorated batter.

As a result, he ended up calling Root to congratulate him on his incredible achievement.
"I watched the moment, then I rang him after the end of the play," Cook said during a round-table interview hosted by the ICC.

"I couldn't think of the right words to write in a text message. So I thought I'd just ring him, see what he was up to, and make sure he had a beer in his hand, which I think he did," he added.
With a current run total of 12,716, the 33-year-old is just 3,206 runs away from surpassing India's "God of Cricket" as the most decorated batter in Test history.
As each Test goes by, cricket fans begin to realize how much responsibility it is to witness a record that was once thought to be unbreakable fall.

Root still needs to pass six guys before he targets breaking Sachin's record, which would alter the course of history.
Cook is still optimistic that Root will surpass the record held by the

Master Blaster

in the remaining time of his career.
"I think Joe Root could set a mark, certainly on an English side, that'll be very hard to beat. But you just never know. I hope he can get very close, if not be the first person who scores 16,000 Test runs. It'd be a great achievement," Cook added.