Anderson's pitch jibe over Kohli: Who's saying what!

Tags: England tour of India 2016 -17, India Vs England 4th Test at Mumbai, Dec 08-12, 2016, India, England, Virat Kohli, James Michael Anderson

Published on: Dec 13, 2016

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England pacer Jakes Anderson has been at the receiving end of quite a few unflattering comments

England pacer Jakes Anderson has been at the receiving end of quite a few unflattering comments since taking a dig at Indian skipper Virat Kohli, stating that home pitches are hiding flaws in his technique. “I am not sure if he has changed. I just think any technical deficiencies he has got are not in play out here. The wickets just take that out of the equation. There is not that pace in the wicket to get the nicks, like we did against him in England – with a bit more movement,” Anderson stated at a press conference in Mumbai. Not surprisingly, his statements haven't found resonance with a number of known names in the cricketing world.
While Kohli himself underplayed the issue, asking Anderson to move on, none other than legendary former all-rounder Kapil Dev backed the current Indian skipper. "Virat can very well play in all conditions. He is simply playing fabulous cricket. It is great to see an Indian play like this. I have never seen a cricketer like him," Kapil was quoted as saying at the launch of an optical store in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma bowled a googly, and questioned Anderson's poor performance in India despite being one of the best bowlers in the world. "I would say one thing. What he has done on Indian wicket? He is a great bowler. But he should also have done well on Indian wicket. If you are playing in England and taking wicket that doesn't make you great bowler.
"You have to perform well in India also. You need to take wickets here also before speaking anything about Virat. And the way Virat has treated him, he went wicket-less in the last match. How can he say so many things to somebody who is doing so well?" Rajkumar told ANI in an exclusive interview.
"If he would have got him out and then he would have said something like this, I would have accepted it. But at the same time I question his performance on the Indian track, what he has done on the Indian track," he was further quoted as saying by ANI.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, under whom Anderson tasted plenty of success described his former teammate's comments as naive. "For him to say Virat's technique's not changed and it's just the conditions here that suit his style of play - it's so nave," Vaughan told BBC in an interview. Another former captain, South Africa's Graeme Smith, went on to troll Anderson over his controversial remarks. "Is #jimmyanderson saying he can only bowl in English conditions? #kohli #IndvsEng," tweeted Smith.
Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq also expressed surprise over Anderson's observations. "It is surprising to me that Anderson should question Kohli's runs and ability because I haven't seen him take too many wickets in India. Does Anderson mean to say that if you get runs in England you get some sort of certificate that makes you a quality batsman? Don't the English and Australian players struggle when they play in the sub-continent? Does that mean they are bad players or weak teams. To me it does not matter where you get runs because in Test matches runs are runs," Inzamam told Geo Super Sports channel.
--By A Cricket Correspondent

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