Ian Bell rates Joe Root as England’s greatest batter

The English summer has been one to remember for ace English batter, Joe Root, who has accumulated 666 runs in 10 innings so far. His sublime form has caught the eyes of many cricketing buffs, and his touch has been such that it has ignited discussions of him having a realistic chance of coming close or even overtaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to top the charts for the most runs scored in Tests.

Former England batter, Ian Bell, praised how Root has carried himself with the bat since last year, and even touted him to be “England’s greatest batter”, regardless of him getting past Sachin’s total or not.

“He’s played incredibly well in the last 12 months. I don’t think he’s overthinking too much what’s ahead. He’s just sort of living in the moment as we are. To think that Joe could get close is an amazing achievement on his behalf. He’ll go down as England’s greatest batter. There’s no doubt whether he does get to Sachin or not. To think that he can even get close to someone like Sachin, a real great of the game, someone that we’ve all admired growing up, as a hero to not just people and fans in India, but around the world,” stated Root, as quoted by The Hindu.

I certainly get them watching as much cricket from Virat Kohli as possible: Bell

Bell, who himself was an elegant cover-driver of the cricket ball during his heydays, was asked who he thought had the best cover-drive amongst the modern-day players. He also listed the various attributes of Virat Kohli which he admires due to which he makes his kids consume as much cricket from the star India cricketer.

“It’s very hard to look past Virat Kohli, that is for sure. Not just his cover-drive, but the way he plays, his desire for batting, his desire actually in competition and how he goes about his cricket. When he plays his cover drive, whatever format of the game, it’s a good one to watch. You know, my kids who love cricket, I certainly get them watching as much cricket from Virat Kohli as possible,” added Bell in the same interaction.

Root is only 71 runs from getting past former England captain Alastair Cook’s aggregate in Tests. On overtaking Cook, Root will break into the top five of the elusive list. With Root only 33 as of now, there seems a good three-four years of Test cricket left in the tank in him. It will be interesting to witness the height Root will be able to reach as time progresses.