Whenever the Indian team faces England in a Test series, the duel between Virat Kohli and James Anderson grabs the headlines.
In the last decade, the two have had quite a few intense battles on the field. While Anderson dominated Kohli in the 2014 series, the veteran India batter bounced back and produced his best in the 2016 and 2018 series.
In their last meet-up, which was during the 2021 series, Anderson had an upper hand over Kohli, dismissing him cheaply on two occasions while the former India skipper failed to hit a century.
As India take on England in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston from July 1, fans and experts are once again excited to see the Kohli versus Anderson contest.
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According to former India pacer Zaheer Khan, this might be the last battle between the two cricketing stalwarts.
At 39, Anderson is in the twilight of his career. He was axed from the Test side following the Ashes debacle earlier this year and recently returned to the side for the home Test series against New Zealand.
“The more you watch this battle, the more you enjoy it. But yes, I feel we might be seeing this battle for the last time. Anderson is not playing many matches these days and he seems quite close to retirement. There might be a big gap after this when it comes to the next India-England Test series,” Zaheer said in a discussion on Cricbuzz.
Speaking further on the rivalry, Zaheer said that he expects Kohli to be troubled by the seasoned England pacer.
“It should be exciting without a doubt. During the previous series, we witnessed Anderson moving the ball rather impressively. He will pose problems for the batters for sure. Virat Kohli might also be troubled a bit. After all, it is never easy against Anderson and it will be a good challenge for Kohli,” he opined.
During the IPL 2022, Kohli struggled badly and there were suggestions to give him a break from the game. However, Zaheer doesn't think that formula is guaranteed to succeed.
“Whether or not a player needs a break depends on the cricketer himself. There is no set formula. It is not as if you should take a break if you're in bad form or that you will come back to form if you practice a lot. It’s up to the individual to decide,” he said.
Notably, Virat Kohli looked in great touch and had a decent outing in India’s warm-up fixture against Leicestershire last week. The right-hander scored 33 in the first innings and followed it with a brilliant knock of 67 in the second dig.
