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Joe Root will go down as England's greatest batter in Tests even if he is not able to break Sachin Tendulkar's gargantuan record of 15,921 runs, reckons his former teammate Ian Bell.
Root went past Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara recently to move to the sixth spot in the list of highest run-getters in the longest format.
“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,” Bell told PTI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of Legends League Cricket in Jodhpur.
"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.
“To think that Joe could get close is an amazing achievement on his behalf. He'll go down as England's greatest batsman. There's no doubt whether he does get to Sachin or not,” said the 42-year-old who played as many as 118 Tests for England.
With 12,402 runs, the 33-year-old Root is 3,519 runs away from breaking Tendulkar's record.
Bazball has unlocked talent of current players
Bell feels England's much talked-about Bazball approach has unlocked talent of the current players.
"From a fan point of view, you have to look at the results. Since Brendon (McCullum) has come into this England side and (Ben) Stokes has took over, the results have been absolutely fantastic.
“What they've managed to do with the talent that they have is to unlock some of that.... Zak Crawley's, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, they've managed to get the best out of them.
“I don't think you could ask a Crawley or Pope to try and be an Alastair Cook or a Jonathan Trott who played in a different style, but were very successful. It's important to identify what they've got and they're adapting that as we go on now."
However, with England not featuring among contenders for World Test Championship final in the first two editions, Bell said winning away would be as important as at home in the next cycle.
“I'm sure they've got one eye on the next 12 months, which has five Test matches (against) India at home, which will be a huge challenge,” he said.
“India are probably the best team in the world at the moment, and then, Australia away. Those 10 Test matches on the road will be hugely important for that group of players and something they're gearing themselves up for.
“We were the last team to win in India, which was obviously (a) part of the journey to get to No 1 and we won in Australia. For this England side to get to No 1, there's no doubt, ability and talent-wise, they have that,” he said.
He also stressed on consistency shown by the Indian team which has won 17 series in a row at home and its last two series in Australia.
“That's what we've seen with India at the moment. They've managed to be able to win away from home as much as anyone and that's the reason why they are the No 1 team in the world at the moment.”
Bell agreed while one could argue saying England's white-ball revolution has also seen diminishing batting averages of the players in Tests barring Root.
“You could definitely have that argument. The next generation of players are growing up with a big diet of T20 cricket in early age and have a look at cricket in England at the moment, there's a lot of short format cricket in the early age group,” he said.
Himself known for his delightful cover drivers, Bell thinks Virat Kohli plays his favourite shot the best among his peers.
“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,” he said.
Bell added the likes of Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts have huge shoes to fill following the retirement of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
“It's very difficult for any players to come in and emulate straight away what Broad-Anderson have done for England for such a long time,” he said.
"It's probably very similar to when (Shane) Warne and (Glenn) McGrath finished at the same time for Australia. It took a little bit of time for Australia to adapt and adjust.
“It's unfair for anyone who's to follow in those shoes to be seen in the same way. Hopefully people don't get too hard on them too much,” he added.