Joe Root chooses between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar in 'This or That' contest featuring all-time great batters

Published - 19 Sept 2025, 18:53 IST | Updated - 19 Sept 2025, 19:39 IST

Recently, England's talismanic batter Joe Root participated in what is now a very popular segment of celebrity interviews, usually named 'This or That' contest.

The former England captain is in the form of his life, scoring runs for fun in Test cricket. He is expected to play a key role in the upcoming edition of the Ashes, which gets underway on November 21, with the first Test scheduled to be held in Perth.

Coming back to the 'This or That' contest, Root picked Steve Smith over himself in the first round. The list included some of the greatest batters of all time. In the second round, Root kept two-time ODI World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting, letting go of Smith.

Legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis won the next four rounds of the contest. However, Sachin Tendulkar emerged victorious in the penultimate round. In the final round, Root had to choose between Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. After pausing for a brief moment, Root picked the Master Blaster as the winner of the 'This or That' contest.

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Root has had the privilege of playing alongside some of the stalwarts of the game during his illustrious career. He is a part of the 'Fab 4' with Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Virat Kohli. This quarter has been given this name fondly by the cricket fraternity due to their excellent consistency with the bat across formats for well over a decade.

Meanwhile, Root is chasing Tendulkar's record for the most runs in Test cricket. While the Indian icon finished with 15,921 runs in his international red-ball career, the 34-year-old Root has already smashed 13,543 runs. So, the Sheffield-born needs just 2379 runs to become the highest run-getter in Test matches.

Root also has 39 Test centuries compared to the 51 aggregated by Tendulkar. 13 more tons, and Root will have the most three-figure scores in the history of Test cricket.