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'Technical Flaws Hidden': When James Anderson Accused Virat Kohli Of Being Home Bully

James Anderson once shared fierce rivalry with Indian star Virat Kohli (X.com)James Anderson once shared fierce rivalry with Indian star Virat Kohli (X.com)

In a scathing attack on Indian batting superstar Virat Kohli, English legendary paceman James Anderson claimed that Kohli’s technical flaws aren’t exposed on home pitches as the lack of pace movement off the surface suits him.

The cricketing world has witnessed its fair share of rivalries, but one of the most intriguing in recent years has been between England’s veteran fast bowler, James Anderson and India’s batting maestro, Virat Kohli. 

The duo clashed first in 2014 when Anderson dismissed Kohli four times during India’s tour of England, which turned out to be the latter’s lowest career point as he managed just 134 runs in 10 innings.

However, the tables turned drastically in 2016. In one of the most dominant years of Kohli’s career, he scored three double-hundreds and over 600+ runs in the home Test series against England. 

However, James Anderson refused to give credit to Virat Kohli for his resurgence. He instead accused him of being a home bully. In a direct dig, Jimmy stated that Indian conditions often hide Kohli’s technical flaws.

"I am not sure if Virat Kohli has changed. I just think any technical deficiencies he has got are not in play out here. The wickets just take that out of the equation. There is not that pace in the wicket to get the nicks, like we did against him in England - with a bit more movement," Anderson said.

The pitches in India lack seam movement which rules out any odds of inducing a nick. Moreover, since the batter is an excellent player of spin, he tends to thrive in Indian conditions,  Anderson argued.

"When that (pace and movement) is not there, Kohli is very much suited to playing in these conditions. He is a very good player of spin - and if you are not bang on the money and don't take your chances, he will punish you," he added.

James Anderson admitted that if one fails to get Virat Kohli early at home turf, he ends up punishing the opposition brutally.