'He has an aura...' - Kevin Pietersen livid with Ben Stokes & Co. for James Anderson's exclusion

England didn’t include veteran pacer James Anderson in their playing XI for the first IND vs ENG Test match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Anderson is one of the greatest Test bowlers in the modern era and has picked up over 690 wickets from 183 Test matches. However, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen was worried by how England bowlers were leaking runs on Day 2 of the first Test.

England were wrapped up for 246 runs, and in return, the Indian batsmen scored nearly five runs an over and finished at 119/1 on Day 1. Kevin Pietersen believes that someone like James Anderson could have controlled the flow of runs well. Pietersen’s comments came when Indian batsmen KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja counter-attacked against the England bowlers. India had lost four wickets for a score of 223 runs.

KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja added 65 runs off 74 balls for the 5th wicket and maintained the fast run rate by the Indian cricket team. However, Rahul missed out on a well-deserved hundred, and was dismissed for 86 runs from 123 balls. Jadeja is nearing his half-century and will look to add necessary runs with KS Bharat.

Kevin Pietersen while speaking to the broadcaster stated that James Anderson would not have conceded many runs on this surface. Speaking further in the conversation, he said that Anderson would have got the ball to reverse swing as well.

Kevin Pietersen not happy with James Anderson’s exclusion from first IND vs ENG Test

Kevin Pietersen said, “I don’t think Anderson would have gone for many runs on this surface. He would have got the ball reverse swinging, bowled wicket to wicket. He can bowl with control and has an aura when he walks on the cricket field. You need one bowler, at least, in trying conditions to hold the game.”

After finishing at 119/1 on Day 1, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal very soon for 80 runs. Losing their second wicket for 123 runs, Shubman Gill wasted yet another chance as he departed for 23 runs off 66 balls. KL Rahul added 64 runs off 106 balls for the fourth wicket and continued their attack. While Shreyas Iyer was dismissed for 35 runs off 63 balls, Ravindra Jadeja walked into bat and continued the attacking approach.

India would aim to gain a heavy first-innings lead and put the pressure once again back on England. Before the Indian counterattack, England were wrapped up for 246 runs in their first innings. England’s ‘bazball’ approach failed on the Hyderabad pitch and they scored less than 3.20 runs per over. This is the slowest run rate since the introduction of the ‘bazball’.

The IND vs ENG five-match series is very important from the perspective of the World Test Championship 2023-25. India would look to add necessary points to the WTC 2023-25 standings and also qualify once again for the finals of the biggest ICC Test event.

India have played the inaugural 2 WTC finals but have not been able to win a single title despite playing well throughout the cycle. India would look forward to winning the title in 2025.