5 Players who could break Sachin’s record of most Test runs

When Alastair Cook broke Sachin Tendulkar's record to become the youngest player ever to score 10,000 Test runs, everyone believed that he could get past Sachin's tally of 15921 runs, as he was just 31 and was playing only tests.

But, his dismal run of form made him hang up his boots. After his retirement, questions once again loom around any other batsmen capable of breaching Tendulkar’s record in Test cricket history.

We take a look at some of those players who can be banked upon to get past Sachin’s monumental records of most runs in Test cricket.

Cook couldn't meet the expectations

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#1 Virat Kohli

The Indian captain has been in ominous form, scoring tons of runs after taking over the reins of captaincy in late 2014. With over 500 runs in the ongoing England series, he has scored centuries everywhere, even in SENA countries, which is considered to be the benchmark for an Asian batsman.

Kohli has improved as a Test batsman, with double hundreds in each of the four consecutive series last year. With India set to play the second highest number of Tests as per the latest FTP( Future Tours Programme), he could really pile up runs and break any possible record.

#2 Joe Root

England captain Joe Root, who is the youngest of the fab four of this generation has been the backbone of his Test team. Right from his Test debut, he has scored plenty of runs all over the world. The only flaw which sees him with a lower average among the top four has been his poor conversion rate from the 50s to 100s.

With England scheduled to more Tests than any other countries and ECB’s reluctance to allow Root to play England's limited overs fixtures regularly, he could end up playing more Test among the contemporary players and may end up scoring more runs than Sachin.

#3 Steve Smith

The former Australian captain was in the form of his life before he was banned as a consequence of the ball-tampering scandal. His Bradmanesque average of 61.37, rates him highly among the current lot of batters in Test cricket.

With his prowess in adverse conditions, if he could come back with the same vein of form after his ban, he could very well go past the tally of 15921 runs.

#4 Kane Williamson

The underrated of the fab four is the Kiwi captain Kane Williamson. He is one of those gifted players, who possesses the Asian style of Test playing. Also, he is the only active player to have scored centuries against all major Test playing nations (9).

New Zealand play less Test matches than India, England and Australia, which could be a dent to his chances. But given his ability, he does have an outside chance to topple Sachin Tendulkar's mighty record.

#5 Aiden Markam

This may surprise many, but Markam definitely is the dark-horse in this race. Being touted as the next big thing in South Africa, he has already started making big waves. He is second only to Mike Hussey for being the quickest to 1000 runs in terms of days from debut.

Although it is early days for him, the composure that the 23-year old showed in his 94 against India or his century in the first ever 4-day Test shows that he has got the talent. If he proves his mettle in all conditions, he could very well do the unthinkable.