I would love to bowl at Virat Kohli again: James Anderson

Ace English bowler James Anderson was last in action for England in the rescheduled fifth Test match against India in Edgbaston, Birmingham, earlier this month. He was one of the stars of the Test match, bagging a five-wicket haul in the first innings and guiding his team to a famous victory to draw the series 2-2. Meanwhile, the 39-year-old fast bowler dropped a hint about his playing future.

Anderson said that, although he is not sure about it, he would love to bowl at Virat Kohli, again. He added that he might stay until the next tour to face the star Indian batter again. Anderson and Kohli have had some fierce battles in the past, and the Englishman has got the better of the former Indian captain on seven occasions.

“Well, I do not know. I would love to bowl at Virat again. So, maybe I will stick around for the next tour,” Anderson said on the Sony Sports Network show ‘Extra Innings’.

Maybe it’s the last time that you are getting to see this contest: Zaheer Khan

Out of the seven times that Anderson dismissed Kohli in Tests, five of them came during Kohli’s first tour to England in 2014. In their next meeting, which was during the England tour of India 2016-17, Anderson failed to dismiss Kohli throughout the five-match series. And during India’s recent tour, Kohli was dismissed twice by the third-highest wicket-taker in the format. Former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan had stated during the Test series that this might be the last time that the two greats of the game lock horns against each other.

“The more you see this battle, the more you will enjoy. If in a contest, the figures of the rival players are almost equal, it gets interesting. Maybe it’s the last time that you are getting to see this contest. Because Anderson is not playing matches regularly and sometime in future, he will have to say goodbye to this game,” former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan had said while speaking to Cricbuzz.

“Maybe that point is very near. Maybe it’s the last time that you will get to see this contest because after this series, the next time India face England in England, there will be a long gap. It will be an exciting contest this time,” Zaheer Khan had added. India’s next meeting with England in Tests is in 2024 at home and in 2025 away.