'Virat Isn't Going To Get There Now': Former Aussie Allrounder Claims Sachin Tendulkar's Test Record Is Safe

Former Australia cricketer Brad Hogg has said that he doesn't think Virat Kohli will be able to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring most Test runs, with his career already at its fag end. Kohli's Test average, which was over 50 a few years back, dropped below it after he endured a lean patch for almost three years and now, with just one half-century in the last six innings, it has come to 48.74.Hogg feels that Kohli, who has 8871 runs in 114 Tests, has lost the momentum in the race to surpass Tendulkar's run tally in the red-ball format.This year, Kohli has scored 81 runs in two Tests, at an average of 20.25. He would desperately need to bounce back in the second Test against Bangladesh to give his numbers some semblance. "I don't think Virat is going to get there now. I just don't think Virat is going to get there. I think he's lost his momentum and the momentum that he's lost has been for several years now. He's got to turn around in the next 10 Tests, or he's going to drop off," Hogg said while speaking on his YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlE1RTrAZaY

With a long stretch of inconsistency, Kohli has fallen behind in terms of numbers among the Fab 4, which includes ace batters Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith. Although Kohli's numbers across formats are still the best, in Tests, Root has taken a huge leap and now leads the three others. The Englishman has scored 4579 runs in 49 Tests in the last three years, including 17 hundreds, half of what he has scored in his Test career, which started in 2012. He is the top-ranked ICC Test batter at the moment with 922 rating points.Much like former England cricketer Michael Vaughan, Hogg said that Root can break Tendulkar's record of scoring most Test runs. "So, Joe Root has 146 Tests with 12,000 runs. Sachin Tendulkar made nearly 16,000 runs in 200 Tests. That's 4,000 runs in 66 Tests. I think Joe Root can go close to toppling that," Hogg said. "I think it's going to be something to watch. Watch out, Joe Root is on the move to beat Sachin Tendulkar. I think quietly he'll have that in the back of his mind to try and topple that little unique stat," Hogg added.