England fast bowling legend James Anderson has praised Virat Kohli as one of the greatest Test batters ever while addressing the recent retirements of both Kohli and Rohit Sharma from Test cricket. Anderson, 42, believes India has enough talent to fill the void left by these departures ahead of their upcoming five-Test tour of England.
Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday, ending his career as India's fourth-highest run-scorer in the format. This decision came shortly after his teammate and captain Rohit Sharma also stepped away from Test cricket.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!"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," Anderson said on TalkSport.
The English paceman highlighted India's talent pool, particularly noting the impact of IPL players transitioning to Test cricket.
"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," Anderson stated.
Anderson and Kohli shared a notable rivalry spanning over a decade in Test cricket, particularly during India's tours of England. Their contests saw dramatic shifts, with Anderson dominating Kohli in 2014, followed by Kohli's remarkable comeback in 2018 when he scored nearly 600 runs.
Anderson cautioned against England focusing too much on the upcoming Ashes series while overlooking the challenge posed by India.
"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," Anderson said.
The five-Test series between India and England is scheduled to begin in just over a month, marking India's first Test series without both Kohli and Rohit in their lineup.
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