IND v ENG 2016: Former Cricketers Slam James Anderson For Distasteful Comments
Dec 12, 2016 at 1:20 PM
England pacer James Anderson was in the firing line after the visitors capitulated on the fifth morning of the Wankhede test in Mumbai. All it needed was just 25 minutes, before the remaining four English wickets fell, handing India a victory by an innings and 36 runs. However, post the game, the spotlight continued to remain on the England speedster.
Anderson attracted negativity late on the fourth evening of the game, when in a press meet; he said the Indian conditions were apparently hiding the flaws of superstar Indian batsman Virat Kohli. These comments from Anderson came after Kohli had decimated England with a marathon knock of 235 on the fourth day.
Former cricketers such as Aakash Chopra and Graeme Smith slammed Anderson for his vague remarks in a series of tweets. While Chopra drew a comparison of Anderson with Mohammad Shami, who was been simply brilliant, Smith left a mark with another tweet. Smith openly questioned Anderson, and asked if the latter meant that he could only perform in England.
Below, are the couple of tweets made by the former cricketers.
Anderson has taken 4 wickets in the series. Shami has taken 10 wickets. Hope nobody is finding correlation b/w Jimmy's skills & pitches.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 12, 2016
Is #jimmyanderson saying he can only bowl in English conditions? #kohli #IndvsEng
— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) December 12, 2016
Anderson, rather than praising Kohli for his heroics, questioned him, as he said on the fourth day, “I’m not sure he’s changed.” “I just think any technical deficiencies he’s got aren’t in play out here. The wickets just take that out of the equation.”We had success against him in England, but the pace of the pitches over here just take any flaws he has out of the equation. There’s not that pace in the wicket to get the nicks, like we did against him in England with a bit more movement. Pitches like this suit him down to the ground,” said Anderson.
Fair to say, these words from Anderson make him look like an individual, for whom defeat is a bitter pill.