'One of the greatest Test batters' - James Anderson lavishes praise on Virat Kohli

The England ace pacer James Anderson has praised the Indian stalwart Virat Kohli as "one of the greatest" batters to play Test cricket. The right-handed batter announced his retirement via social media on May 12.

The right-arm pacer felt that India has an immense talent pool capable of filling up the big shoes after the retirement of the duo of Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The England legend battled an epic rivalry with Kohli over the years. The batter scored 305 runs at an impressive average of 43.57 in 36 innings, and fell to the pacer for seven times.

“Great players. There will be a new captain because Sharma has retired. Kohli, one of the greatest Test batters that's ever been. There are big shoes to fill there, but they've got a huge amount of talent in their squad. You just have to watch the IPL. They are bringing players into Test cricket from the IPL now who are just so attacking, aggressive, and fearless," said Anderson as quoted by NDTVSports.

India will be a tough challenge: Anderson

India are set to take on England for a five-match Test series which will begin on June 20 in Leeds. The 42-year-old admitted that the visitors will be a tough challenge for the England players. He further pointed out that the Ashes is coming and it is very important to get some momentum within the setup.

“It's a huge year with the Ashes coming, but it is important to get some momentum going. If I'm being honest, looking back at my career, that happened too much where, 18 months out from an Ashes, the management and even the players started to look towards that and actually forget what's in front of you. India is going to be such a tough challenge even at home. They are a strong side,” he added.