James Anderson Calls Virat Kohli One Of The Best; Says He’s Excited For Their Face-Off

Veteran England pacer James Anderson has called Indian captain Virat Kohli one of the best and mentioned that he is excited for their face-off when India and England clash in the first of the five-match Test series in Nottingham on August 4.

India has always struggled against the quality seamers of England and it will be a thing to see if India will be able to dominate this time around on that front. Virat Kohli had a brilliant outing India last time toured England for Tests, scoring 593 runs in 5 Tests with 2 centuries and 3 half-centuries to his name, though India lost the series 1-4.

Really Excited For The Face-Off Against Virat Kohli And Challenge Against One Of The Best In The World: James Anderson

James Anderson further added that it’s not important that only he takes Kohli’s wicket, any other bowler can take his wicket. But he mentioned that he always liked facing the India captain on the pitch.

“He always wants to play big against the bowlers and it’s great to face that challenge. I know he has a big influence on the team, both as a captain and as a batsman. Really excited for the face-off and challenge against one of the best in the world and I don’t mind if I take his wicket or somebody else does. Excited for the face-off,” said Anderson as in the presser before the opening Test.

India has not won a Test series in England since 2007 when Rahul Dravid’s team won the series 1-0. Under the captain of MS Dhoni, India lost 0-4 in 2011 and 1-3 in 2014, while Virat Kohli’s India lost 1-4 in 2018.

India will be coming off a loss to New Zealand in the World Test Championship final, while England lost 1-0 to New Zealand in a two-Test series. India has played a warmup match against a County Select XI in Durham, while England players are coming off after playing white-ball series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

While India has had their headaches with injuries since Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar have been ruled out of the Test series due to injuries, England has lost the trump card in Ben Stokes, who had taken an indefinite break from cricket due to mental health issues.

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