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"Had More Verbal Battles With Virat..," Anderson's Honest Confession On Kohli And Sachin

Aashay Chopade

Anderson with Virat Kohli (Source:@circleofcricket/X.com)Anderson with Virat Kohli (Source:@circleofcricket/X.com)

James Anderson has a long history of on-field battles with some of India's finest batters like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The pacer has enjoyed a decent amount of success against both players, dismissing Sachin nine times and Kohli on seven occasions in Test cricket.

Anderson dismissed Sachin Tendulkar in both English and Indian conditions while Kohli struggled big-time in England during the 2014 tour. All three of them have retired from Test cricket, and as the young Indian team gets ready for a five-match Test series in England, Anderson has opened up on his battles with Indian greats.

James Anderson On Contrasting Personalities Of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli

The English legend shared his views on the talkSport Podcast, as quoted by Hindustan Times. Anderson stated that Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar were different characters. He described Sachin as a calm person, while he felt that Virat Kohli was aggressive in his approach and was driven by emotions. 

The English pacer also admitted that he tried to look at Virat Kohli just as a batter and not get involved in any altercation, but it was quite difficult on the field.

"Kohli was a slightly different character than Sachin. Sachin was very mild, mannered; very calm at the crease. Virat was more expressive with his emotions. Wore them on his sleeves and you can kind of see it. In his captaincy, when he celebrated his wickets. I tried as much as I could to get that feeling out of the equation and just try to think of him as a batter and not too much about who it was. It was difficult at times; we had many battles on the field."

Anderson also mentioned that Sachin was at a different stage in his career and was respected widely across the cricketing world. The fast bowler was quite younger than Sachin, so in the podcast, he clearly mentions that he tried not to get involved in any verbal battle with the Indian great. The pacer then states that Virat Kohli did not enjoy such stature early in his career, but became more like Sachin as the years went by.

"I definitely had more verbal battles with Virat than with Sachin. With Sachin I tried not to. He was certainly at a different stage in his career when I played against him. He had this sort of God-like presence, and how he was held in India. It was incredible how the fans treated him and looked up to him. But as Virat's career went on, that became more and more like that for him. But at the start of his career, it wasn't quite intimidating."

Overall, James Anderson, in his talkSport Podcast, has exhibited the respect for the greats of Indian cricket. Virat Kohli in the past too has expressed his admiration for Anderson, and cricket fans would be hoping for more such cricketing battles among the new crop of players in the upcoming five-match series.