Jimmy Anderson may be retired, but the sight of Virat Kohli can still flick a switch inside the former England quick.
Anderson thundered down his rapid deliveries to Kohli across 36 innings of Test cricket over the course of the Englishman’s glittering Test career that spanned two decades.
GettyThe Englishman was a thorn in Kohli’s side during his first tour of England[/caption]The Burnley native more than had Kohli’s number from the get-go, as the Indian superstar’s first tour of England in 2014 did not go to plan.
Across the five-Test series, Anderson snared Kohli’s wicket an impressive four times.
Kohli would have been forgiven if he had nightmares of Anderson from that moment onwards.
Instead, Kohli went away and worked on his game to point where he lost his wicket to Anderson only three more times for the rest of the Englishman’s career.
Even as Anderson’s powers began to fade towards the end of his career, he remained unrelenting towards Kohli and his response to a ruthless sledge from the Indian proved just as much.
In a special interview with Jon Norman for talkSPORT Cricket, Anderson opened up on his exchange with Kohli as they walked off the field following the fifth Test at Edgbaston during India’s tour of England in July 2022.
“He (Kohli) said, ‘This is the last time we’re going to play against each other,'” Anderson said.
“I said, ‘Why? Are you retiring?’
“He (Kohli) was thinking I was coming to the end.
“It was just a nice moment where that mutual respect was definitely there.”
GettyKohli ultimately hit 305 runs against Anderson in Test cricket, including 39 boundaries[/caption] talkSPORT CricketAnderson lifted the lid on his experiences with Kohli over the years[/caption]Even though Anderson has long since retired from Test cricket and fizzing deliveries towards Kohli, their battles have evidently lingered in the Englishman’s mind.
Norman recounted how Anderson ‘almost tenses up’ when he was recording an episode of a podcast and saw Kohli walk past.
The other hosts of the podcast noted there was a ‘steeliness’ between the two.
Although Anderson conceded the two weren’t exactly the type to hold hands and sing Kumbaya on the field, they are cut from a similar cloth and it led to the emergence of a mutual respect between them.
“That competitiveness, the wanting to do well for your team, wanting to win the game, wanting to win that individual battle,” Anderson said.
“I see a lot of similarities between me and him.
The pair may have had their battles but now share plenty of respectGetty“We’ve definitely never been friends on the field.
“But then, as our careers have gone on, as we’ve both got a bit older and a bit more mature, that mutual respect has shone through.”
Almost a year on from Anderson’s retirement, Kohli decided to hang up the gloves for good in the Test format.
It means India will be without one of their greatest batters for their 2025 tour of England, which begins on Friday with the first Test at Headingley in Leeds.
For the first time ever, talkSPORT overseas listeners can tune into coverage of an England home Test series via the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel.
Our expert team taking you through ball-by-ball consists of England legend Steve Harmison, ex-New Zealand star Jeremy Coney and fans’ favourite David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd.
England vs India Test Series Fixtures
First Test: June 20-24, Headingley, Leeds – 11:00am
Second Test: July 2-6, Edgbaston, Birmingham – 11:00am
Third Test: July 10-14, Lord’s, London – 11:00am
Fourth Test: July 23-27, Old Trafford, Manchester – 11:00am
Fifth Test: July 31-August 4, The Oval, London – 11:00am
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