Delhi's Virat Kohli, who played Test cricket for 14 years in international cricket, announced his retirement from the longest format of the game on 12 May 2025. It’s worth noting that the right-handed batsman had already announced his retirement from T20 cricket on 29 June 2024. Kohli made his Test debut at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, in June 2011 under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, where he scored 4 and 15 runs in his two innings, respectively.

When Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket, he was ranked 4th in terms of most Test runs scored for India. In 123 Test matches, he played 210 innings and scored 9,230 runs off 16,608 balls at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. As a captain, Kohli led India in 68 Tests and won 40 of them, making him one of India’s most successful Test captains. His sudden retirement has surprised many fans and statisticians, especially since it removes him from the race for most Test runs – a record that still holds significant prestige. However, some might argue otherwise, given that Kohli was 19th on the list of all-time top Test run-scorers at the time of his retirement.

Nevertheless, it’s an undeniable fact that Virat Kohli is only 36 years old and, given his elite fitness level, he could have easily continued playing Test cricket for at least another three years.

Maharashtra’s Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar remains the highest run-scorer in Test cricket. Known as the "Little Master," Tendulkar played for India from 1989 to 2013, spanning 24 years. He played a record 200 Test matches, scoring 15,921 runs in 329 innings, including 51 centuries and 68 fifties. Though it has been nearly 12 years since Tendulkar retired from Test cricket, his record still stands strong. Cricket is often called a game of records, where every record is meant to be broken. After his retirement, there was a common belief that Virat Kohli could surpass Tendulkar’s record. But with Kohli’s retirement, that belief has now become a mere thought.

While Kohli’s retirement is one chapter, Joe Root’s steady pursuit of Tendulkar’s record has captured the attention of the cricketing world. Born on 30 December 1990 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, the right-handed batsman and former English Test captain made his Test debut exactly one year before Tendulkar retired. Root debuted under the leadership of Alastair Cook at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur.This match that happened to be Tendulkar’s 194th Test. It’s likely that the Little Master didn’t realize that the batsman who might one day challenge his record had just begun his journey.

In 152 Tests and 278 innings, Joe Root has already scored 36 centuries and stands just 28 runs short of reaching 13,000 Test runs. He currently ranks fifth among the highest run-scorers in Test history. In the 2023–2025 ICC World Test Championship cycle, Root delivered an outstanding performance, even though England failed to qualify for the final. He scored 1,968 runs in 40 innings across 22 Tests, averaging an impressive 54.66 with 7 centuries.

Joe Root is currently 34 years old. With the English team playing at least 15 Test matches a year, if Root continues for another five years, it's very likely that Tendulkar’s record in Test cricket could finally be broken. In an era where teams are showing less interest in Test cricket and valuing white-ball formats more, if Root does reach this milestone, it may not be impossible,but it will certainly be very difficult for anyone else to surpass it.