England’s Jonny Bairstow is gearing up for his landmark 100th Test match in Dharamshala, as the tourists are aiming to finish the grueling India tour with a win in the fifth and final Test.

Ahead of the Dharamshala Test, starting on March 7, former England captain Joe Root showered rich praise on Bairstow, lauding his resilience and dedication to the game.

Bairstow is set to achieve the significant milestone of being the 17th England player to play 100 Tests for his country in Dharamshala.

With 99 Test matches under his belt since making his Test debut in 2012, Bairstow has been a vital batter for England, amassing 5,974 runs at an impressive average of 36.43, including 12 centuries and 26 half-centuries.

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Ahead of the big game, Root highlighted Bairstow's ability to adapt and thrive amidst various challenges throughout his career, as he hailed his resilience as a player.

Joe Root stated on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast: “He has had to deal with a lot of change and being moved around, whether throughout the order, keeping or playing just as a batter. That is part and parcel of international cricket. You have to fit into the team and to go on and play 100 Test matches proves that he has been able to do that for long periods of time and offered a huge amount to English cricket.”

He continued, “It also shows the resilience of the player to be able to come back and almost have to remodel yourself into a different role within the team and still have such an impact. He has played some vital innings since that major leg break he had a couple of years ago.”

Root signed off by saying, “It is amazing for him to come back from that as he has done. You also have to factor in that for a long time he has been a major part of all three teams - Test, ODI, and T20 - and the wear and mental fatigue that can have on players. To continually be consistent is a very hard thing to do and throughout his career, he has always been at the top of at least one or two of those formats. That is an incredible feat.”

(With India Today Inputs)