Virat Kohli ‘one of the greatest Test batters ever' but India have talent to fill his shoes, says James Anderson
England fast bowling great James Anderson has hailed Virat Kohli, with whom he shared a storied rivalry, as one of the greatest batters to ever play Test cricket. The 42-year-old however feels that India have the pool of talent that can fill up the gap left by even someone of Kohli's stature.
Kohli retired from Test cricket on Monday, bringing the curtains down on a glorious career in which he finished as India's fourth highest run scorer of all time in the format. His decision came just days after longtime teammate and captain Rohit Sharma also retired from the format. 'Great players. There will be a new captain because Sharma has retired. Kohli, one of the greatest Test batters that's ever been. There's big shoes to fill there but they've got a huge amount of talent in their squad,' said Anderson on TalkSport. 'You just have to watch the IPL. They are bringing players into Test cricket from the IPL now who are just so attacking, aggressive, and fearless.'
The rivalry between Anderson and Kohli often took centre stage during Test series between India and England for more than a decade, particularly when the former play at the latter's home. Anderson's devastating spells had resulted in Kohli having one of his worst series of all time in England in 2014 and the former India captain then hit back by scoring nearly 600 runs the next time India played in the country in 2018.
Kohli and Rohit's retirements come with just over a month remaining for India's five-Test tour of England. Anderson stated that England should be wary of underestimating India and focusing on the Ashes that is coming later this year. 'It's a huge year with the Ashes coming but it is important to get some momentum going.
'If I'm being honest, looking back at my career, that happened too much where, 18 months out from an Ashes the management and even the players starting to look towards that and actually forgetting what's in front of you. India is going to be such a tough challenge even at home. They are a strong side,' said Anderson.
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