England’s Joe Root has revealed that a period of deep introspection during the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with crucial guidance from former captain Nasser Hussain, was the turning point in his career — one that has now brought him within touching distance of Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time Test runs record.

“I actually spoke to Nass quite a bit,” Root told Sky Sports.

"I said, 'can I get some footage?' and just look at modes of dismissal and if there were any trends and seeing the different ways I was getting out at different points in my innings.

"One thing I've done within that period is actually try and look at the game slightly differently.

"For that start of my career, a lot of it was based on my technique: where my hands are, where my head is, am I lined up, is my trigger right?

"Whereas in this second phase of things, it's been more about managing risk and thinking how can I eliminate as many modes of dismissal as possible with the highest output?"

Root surpassed Ricky Ponting’s tally of 13,378 runs on Friday, day three of the fourth Test against India, and now sits at 13,409 runs from 157 Tests -- behind only Tendulkar’s towering 15,921.

Root made his Test debut in the 2012 Nagpur Test, a series that marked the twilight of Tendulkar’s career.

Recalling the surreal moment, Root, during a conversation with Harsha Bhogle on Sony Liv, said: "There's someone, again, that you watched play as a young kid and you wanted to copy and emulate and then to get the opportunity to play against him as well.

"I mean, he made his Test debut before I was born and then you find yourself playing in a Test match against him.”

"It was an incredible experience to go to India. The whole crowd cheers because Sachin's coming into bat. It was bizarre to witness but just shows the greatness of the man and the legend that he is.”

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