Anderson calls Kohli out on personal runs comment

England

Cricket365
July 23, 2018

England fast bowler James Anderson feels that Virat Kohli was not entirely honest when he claimed that it doesn’t matter if he gets runs or not.

Anderson says that if India are to win the series in England Kohli will have to make runs and joked that the Indian skipper was lying when he said ‘It doesn’t matter whether I get runs or don’t get runs, what I want is the team to play well and the team to win’.

The fast bowler told PTI: “It doesn’t matter if he gets runs or not? I think he is telling lies there.

“For India to win here, of course it matters. Virat will be desperate to score runs for his team, as you would expect from the captain and one of the best players in the world.”

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Anderson suggested that the battle between Kohli and the England attack will add tremendous intrigue to the Test series.

He added: “I am sure he is practising hard at certain aspects of his game and that will make the battle between him and not just myself, but him and the rest of our bowlers, a really exciting one.”

Anderson opined that Kohli would have little trouble switching from limited overs cricket to the Test game.

The paceman said: “You would think that the red ball swings more or does more off the seam but it doesn’t work like that.

“When the players you mention, and not just Virat, they play the ball so late that they have got so much time and they make you feel slow as a bowler.

“It is hard with white or red ball. Sometimes when batsmen are trying to be more attacking in white ball cricket than red ball, you might create more chances, but overall it is hard to say.”

England v India Tests 2018

1 August: first Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham
9 August: second Test, Lord’s, London
18 August: third Test, Trent Bridge, Nottingham
30 August: fourth Test, The Rose Bowl, Southampton
7 September: fifth Test, The Oval, London