Geoffrey Boycott believes Joe Root has the skills to score more runs than Sachin in Tests

Former English Test cricketer Geoffrey Boycott reckons that England's current Test skipper Joe Root has the potential and talent to surpass Sachin Tendulkar as the all-time run-scorer in the longest format of the game. 

Root had amassed 426 runs in four innings at an average of 106.50 in the recently-concluded two Test matches against Sri Lanka in their own backyard where England completed a 2-0 whitewash. Root had scored 228 in the first Test and 186 in the second. 

'There is no reason why...': Geoffrey Boycott 

“Forget just scoring more Test runs for England than David Gower, Kevin Pietersen, and myself. Joe Root has the potential to play 200 Tests and score more runs than even Sachin Tendulkar,” Boycott wrote in a column for The Telegraph.

“Root is only 30. He has played 99 Tests and scored 8249 runs already. As long as he does not suffer serious injury there is no reason why he cannot beat Tendulkar’s all-time record of 15,921,” he added.

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The elegant number three batsman will be leading England in the four-match Test series against India starting February 5 and the visitors would be hoping to repeat the heroics of the 2012/13 season where they had registered a 2-1 win in (four-match series) under the leadership of former iconic opener Alastair Cook. That remains England's last Test series win on Indian soil to date.

India Vs England: Test series

The four-match Test series will also constitute a major part of the ongoing inaugural ICC World Test Championship. The tour kicks off with the first Test that will be played in Chennai's M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. 

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Here are the fixtures of the four-match Test series:

1st Test:  5th-9th Feb (Chennai)

2nd Test: 13th-17th Feb (Chennai)

3rd Test:  24th-28th Feb (Ahmedabad)

4th Test:  4th 8th Mar (Ahmedabad)

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