Ricky Ponting has suggested that Joe Root could potentially surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs in Test cricket, provided he remains motivated and continues to perform consistently over the next four years. Root recently joined an elite group by surpassing 12,000 Test runs during the Edgbaston Test against the West Indies, bringing his tally to 12,027 runs in 143 Tests, at an average of 50.11, with 32 centuries and 63 fifties. Currently, he is the seventh-highest run-scorer in Test history and is poised to overtake Kumar Sangakkara (12,400 runs) and Alastair Cook (12,472 runs) soon. 

Tendulkar, who holds the record, amassed 15,921 runs in 200 Tests. Ponting, with 13,378 runs in 168 Tests, told The ICC Review that Root, at 33 years old and more than 3,000 runs behind Tendulkar, has the potential to achieve this milestone.