Root surpasses Cook as leading England run-scorer in test cricket; his next big target is Tendulkar
Multan (Pakistan), Oct 9: With an exquisite straight drive for four, Joe Root took another of Alastair Cook's records by becoming England's highest run-scorer in test cricket.
Root surpassed the retired Cook's total of 12,472 runs by reaching 71 during England's first innings on Day 3 of the first test against Pakistan on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old Root moved to fifth place on the all-time list of test run-scorers, behind India's Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Australia's Ricky Ponting (13,378), South Africa's Jacques Kallis (13,289) and India's Rahul Dravid (13,288). All four above Root are retired and within reach of a batter who said ahead of the tour to Pakistan that he had plenty left in the tank.
“The only reason it (Cook's record) is on my mind is because people keep asking me about it, to be honest,” Root said. “I see myself playing test cricket for a lot longer. It's not like I'm going to get to a certain mark or a number and say, Right, I'm done now.' I just want to keep enjoying the game, keep playing.”
Root, who is technically excellent and owns pretty much all the shots, overtook Cook's record of 33 test centuries by an England batter last month when he made hundreds in both innings against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Ben Stokes, the England test captain who is sitting out the first match of the series because of injury, praised Root's character and achievement in a video released by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
“The selflessness that he has is an incredible attribute for him,” Stokes said. “He always puts the team first, and the fact that he's got so many runs is just a bonus for us. He's an incredible player. It's going to take a long, long time for someone to come in and break that record. Just a great bloke. And an unbelievable feat to score that many runs.
“But the non-selfishness that he possesses is one thing I think sets him above or sets him apart from anybody else who is going to play for England for a long time.”
Root waved to his teammates soon after reaching the milestone before he raised his bat in acknowledgement. He shook hands with Stokes and bowling mentor James Anderson as he walked off the field at the lunch break, with a 35th test century — and a first in Pakistan — in his sights.
Root is playing in his 147th test and came into the Pakistan series averaging more than 50, whereas Cook made 161 test appearances and batted in 291 innings, averaging 45.35.
They are England's third and fourth most-capped players, behind now-retired fast bowlers Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Root has more runs against India than any other opposition — 2,846 in 30 tests. Next is Australia, against whom he has 2,428 in 34 tests, while his best average is against Sri Lanka at 62.54.
Root was England captain from 2017-22. He averaged 52.80 before the captaincy, 46.45 during it, and he is back to his prior level since standing down.
The most prolific year of his test career was in 2021, when he scored 1,708 runs. He has passed 1,000 runs in a year five times.
He has settled at No. 4 in England's batting order and demonstrated during the recent summer tests against the West Indies and Sri Lanka that he has slightly reined in the bold and occasionally reckless approach he and his England teammates adopted early in the so-called “Bazball” era under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
Those risky ramp shots are mostly gone — though he still got himself out attempting one against the Sri Lankans at Lord's — and he is harder to dismiss for it.
Root's next big target is displacing Tendulkar — the “Little Master” — atop the all-time list and, injury permitting, he has a good chance of doing so.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
