Fans panicked briefly, but the retiring player is Joe Root's younger brother.

For a brief terrifying moment, England cricket fans experienced a real scare. They saw the words ‘Root retires’ trending across sports social media feeds. Fortunately, they quickly realized the headline was not about legendary batsman Joe Root. His younger brother, Billy Root, is the one stepping away.

Billy announced he will retire from professional cricket at the end of 2026. This brings a definitive end to his solid 14-year career in county cricket. The 34-year-old is roughly 16 months younger than his highly famous brother. Joe is 35 and remains a crucial pillar for the England squad.

One brother walks away while the other chases immense historical records.

Earlier this month, Joe overtook Sachin Tendulkar's record of 68 Test fifties. He recently reached 23,000 international runs in just 521 total innings. The biggest Tendulkar record still remains firmly in Joe's aggressive sights. He is currently 1,643 runs behind Tendulkar's all-time Test record.

Billy, meanwhile, enjoyed a very respectable and rewarding professional career himself. He represented Nottinghamshire before eventually joining Glamorgan back in 2019. He played 83 first-class matches and scored over 4,000 impressive runs.

Billy played a vital role in Glamorgan's recent white-ball tournament success.

This includes their massive 2024 One Day Cup championship triumph. Billy called it an absolute privilege to represent both historic counties. He shared in four distinct trophy wins during his long career. His playing opportunities simply became slightly limited this current season.

He made only two County Championship appearances while captaining the second XI. So yes, a Root is finally preparing to retire from professional cricket. It is just not the one actively chasing Sachin Tendulkar.

Stay connected to the athletes and stories shaping the sporting world. Check the latest cricket scores and news on The WAU.

Share This Post