When England was scheduled to travel India for another Test series in January of this year, the cricket community hoped for more of the incredible face-offs that veteran English bowler James Anderson had with top Indian batter Virat Kohli over the years.
But Kohli pulled out of the series for private reasons. Anderson acknowledged that facing the elite hitter would have been a thrill for the guests. However, he also brashly asserted that England supporters will be appreciative that Kohli didn’t score a lot against them.
James Anderson discussed Virat Kohli’s absence from the Test series on Jio Cinema. He said, “I guess English fans will be thankful he’s not playing because he’s such a quality player. But from our point of view you want to test yourself, you want to come up against the best and he’s been someone who I’ve found really challenging to bowl at over the years and it’s a shame he’s not been playing.”
In Test matches, Virat Kohli has amassed 305 runs off the 710 balls that Anderson has delivered to him. The former Indian skipper has, however, been dismissed up to seven times by the seasoned bowler.
“He’s a world-class bowler” : James Anderson on Jasprit Bumrah
Speedster Jasprit Bumrah’s performance in the series thus far has also impressed James Anderson. Particularly during the second Test in Visakhapatnam where he took nine wickets and was named Player of the Match.
The veteran England pacer added that, “You know that reverse swing can play a big part in India and he’s (Bumrah) a great exponent of it. That yorker we saw to Ollie Pope, he’s got that up his sleeve as well. It’s not a fluke that he’s got to number one in the world. He’s a world-class bowler and from our point of view we weren’t surprised that he put up a performance like that.”
Jasprit Bumrah was left out of the Indian team in the fourth Test match in Ranchi. But he was added back for the final match in Dharamshala. Some great fast bowling would be on display by Bumrah and Anderson as the conditions are set to favour pacers.
