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'I Used To Watch A Lot To Try And Learn'- James Anderson On Zaheer Khan's Influence

Zaheer Khan hiding the ball from the batter (X.com)Zaheer Khan hiding the ball from the batter (X.com)

England's premier bowler in Test cricket, James Anderson has proved that age is just a number. Even in the ongoing series against India, Jimmy has been performing exceptionally well despite the conditions not being favourable for a fast bowler. He could not stop himself from praising the Indian veteran and how he used to learn from him. 

With 698 Test wickets so far in his career, Jimmy Anderson is nothing short of a legend in the world of cricket. While he is the one every other bowler watches and learns from, he disclosed who was the bowler that he used to watch and learn from. Surprisingly, it turns out that Anderson used to watch and copy the style of the Indian left-arm seamer, Zaheer Khan. 

Undoubtedly, Zaheer Khan was a phenomenal bowler and was also one of the major reasons behind India's World Cup 2011 title. Coming onto the red ball, Zaheer was supremely skilled in reversing the ball and troubling the batters, which is why Anderson spoke highly of him during a recent interview on Jio Cinema.


Here's what Anderson said about Zaheer Khan and Jasprit Bumrah's exceptional performance in the 2nd Test:

"With someone of his quality, you expect that standard from him. You know that reverse swing can play a big part in India and he’s a great exponent of it. He’s got a good pace, is very accurate, and very consistent. That yorker we saw to Ollie Pope, he’s got that up his sleeve as well. It’s not a fluke that he’s got to number one in the world. He’s a world-class bowler and from our point of view, we weren’t surprised that he put up a performance like that."

Anderson could not stop himself from praising Jasprit Bumrah's yorker to dismiss Ollie Pope, which was nothing short of an unplayable delivery for any batter in the world. He further showcased his admiration towards Zaheer Khan and his reverse-swing skills. 

"For me, Zaheer Khan was someone I used to watch a lot to try and learn from. How he used the reverse swing, how he covered the ball when he ran into bowl, that’s something I tried to sort of develop on the back of playing against him quite a few times here."

James Anderson is a perfect description of a legendary player and with this interview, he would earn a lot more respect because of the way he spoke highly of the Indian players.