File photo of Sachin Tendulkar (left) and Virat Kohli.© BCCI
Despite his retirement in 2013, Sachin Tendulkar still holds the top spot in Test runs, among several other records of his that stand till date. Sachin retired with 15,921 Test to his name. When it comes to the active crickters, India's Virat Kohli, Australia's Steve Smith and England's Joe Root are the top three batters with most Test runs. While Root is at the top of the chart with 12,402 runs, Smith (9685 runs) and Kohli (8871 runs) are next on the list.
All three -- Virat, Smith and Root -- have been touted as next greats in Test cricket, with several experts and former players expecting them to break the record of runs scored by Tendulkar in the format.
While Root continues his rich form in Test cricket, Smith and Kohli are suffering a massive dip in form. Amid the ongoing poor run of the two players, former Australia star Brad Hogg has passed a massive verdict on Kohli.
"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 a number of years now. He's got to turn around in the next 10 Test matches, or he's going to drop off," former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg said in a video on his YouTube channel before India vs Bangladesh first Test.
The India vs Bangladesh match in Chennai saw Kohli returning scores of 6 and 17 across the two innings.
"Joe Root has 146 Test matches with 12,000 runs. Sachin Tendulkar made nearly 16,000 runs in 200 Test matches. That's 4,000 runs in 66 Tests. I think Joe Root can go close to toppling that," said the former Australia all-rounder.
"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.