'It can be Kohli's plan to go after the main guy in the opposition' - Sanjay Manjrekar opines about Anderson-Bumrah row

In the recently concluded Test match between England and India at Lord’s, there was a lot of fire between the two teams. The fire eventually helped India to put England under tremendous pressure on the fifth day and run away with a famous 151-run win. But all of the war of words started with James Anderson poking Jasprit Bumrah and captain Virat Kohli standing his ground against the veteran pacer the next day. 

In his recent column, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about the incident and speculated what would have been the case. The incident started with Bumrah bowling a host of short pitch deliveries to James Anderson a single over. Manjrekar noted that no one would have expected him to do that. Instead, everyone would have thought that Bumrah will bowl fuller deliveries to Anderson as he did in the previous Test. 

Manjrekar argued that he thinks it was a ploy by Virat Kohli which the fast-bowler executed. He said that the Indian skipper might have thought of going after the main guy. “I am guessing this was Virat Kohli’s plan executed by Bumrah. Go after the main guy in the opposition, soften him up a little, stir him up a bit or maybe injure him in a way that the main English weapon was blunted,” Manjrekar wrote in his column on Hindustan Times. 

He is genuinely aggressive and fearless and he is in your face: Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli

The former Indian batsman further went on to praise Kohli for taking the call for whatever reason. “Whatever the reason, I just loved it. Why? Because right through my playing career no captain of mine – barring one – did this to any opposition fast bowler fearing the backlash. This is Virat’s great attribute. He is genuinely aggressive and fearless and he is in your face,” Manjrekar wrote. 

The incident between Bumrah and Anderson, where the English pacer allegedly abused the former, happened while the players were walking back to the dressing room at the end of day three. Manjrekar said, “you could see Anderson was genuinely affected. He had lost his calm as a competitor. It seemed to me his ego was bruised a little.”

The verbal volleys did get the better of the England team and eventually helped India to win the match. The former Indian batter also said that Virat Kohli’s attitude gets brushed on his team and the results are out there to be seen by everyone.