New Delhi: England batter Joe Root hit back at former Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann over his claims that he is not an all-time great yet. Responding to Lehmann’s remarks, Root said it is the former cricketer’s job to give his opinions on the radio and that he is not bothered by his views. Root said he is only focused on scoring runs for England and will continue to do so.
Root has been in terrific form in Test cricket for the last couple of years and has been piling on runs at an incredible consistency in the longest format. Root recently surpassed former captain Alastair Cook to become England’s leading run-getter of all time in Tests and is also on the top of the run-scoring charts in the World Test Championship (WTC).
However, Lehmann believes Root is yet to prove himself in Australia which is why he doesn’t consider him yet in the same bracket as the likes of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. Root has not scored a century in an Ashes series in Australia which Lehmann believes is stopping him from being counted in the all-time great category.
“That’s the only thing stopping Joe Root. He’s a great player, but is he an all-time great? I don’t have him in that realm,” Lehmann told ABC Sports.
“I don’t have him in that realm. I think you’ve got to make hundreds all around the world. (Steve) Smith does, (Kane) Williamson has, (Virat) Kohli has, (Rohit) Sharma has – I mean they’re world-class players,” he added.
Reacting to Lehmann’s comments, Root said it is the former Australian cricketer’s job to share his opinions and his entitled to say what he wants to.
“My job is to score runs, right? To turn up every game and try to do all I can out in the middle. His job is to give his opinion and talk on the radio. I’ll do my job and he can do his job. He’s completely entitled to say what he wants. That’s his right,” Root told BBC.
Joe Root chasing Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record
Root has been in sublime form in Test cricket over the last few years and is currently the only batter close to breaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs in Test history. Root has 12754 runs to his name in 149 Tests for England at an excellent average of 51.01, including 35 centuries and 64 fifties.
He is 5th on the list of the all-time highest run-getters in Test cricket behind only the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Tendulkar in the elite list. Since the start of 2021, Root has amassed an impressive 4931 runs in 52 Test matches at an average of over 56, including 18 centuries, the most by any batter in the world in the same period.
Joe Root hit back at former Australia cricketer Darren Lehmann after he claimed the England batter is not yet among the all-time greats for him. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
