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With both Virat Kohli and James Anderson retired, Joe Root and Jasprit Bumrah have been tipped to recreate their famous rivalry.
Jasprit Bumrah appeals for LBW against Joe Root. (BCCI Photo)
Virat Kohli and James Anderson shared quite a rivalry as they traded punches through the course of their respective careers. During India’s England tour of 2014, Kohli had a nightmare as he mustered 134 runs from five Tests with England legend Anderson dismissing him four times across five Tests.
However, when India travelled to England in 2018, a determined Kohli buried his ghosts of England past and racked up 593 runs from 10 innings to finish as the series’ top run-getter. Interestingly, not once during that tour did Kohli fell to Anderson.
Their fabled rivalry has now been consigned to history with both retiring from Test cricket. Rob Key, the managing director of England men’s cricket team, feels that new rivalries will emerge, notably between Jasprit Bumrah and Joe Root during the upcoming Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Bumrah has made Root his bunny in Test cricket having dismissed the England batting star 9 times so far.
“I watch the young Indian players coming through. I believe that with the talent I see in white-ball cricket, even in the IPL, talented players can adapt much easier than people think,” Key told The Times of India. “You don’t need to have played 50-100 red-ball games to be able to put your best foot forward in Test cricket. And those rivalries will emerge.”
“You’ve got probably one of our best players, if not the best — Joe Root — against one of the best bowlers I’ve seen in Bumrah. So that’s going to be a fascinating contest. Rishabh Pant and Jamie Smith, those two wicketkeepers that play in such a captivating style, have the ability to throw counter punches,” he added.
The first Test of the five-match series between India and England will be held in Leeds from Friday. The visitors will be without Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin as each has retired from red-ball cricket.
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
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