'Battles we had were incredible' - James Anderson pays tribute to 'fiercest competitor' Virat Kohli

Legendary pacer James Anderson has praised Indian stalwart Virat Kohli post his Test retirement. The former Indian skipper announced his retirement from the red-ball format via his social media on May 12.

Anderson admitted that the Indian cricketer will play around with his technique. The right-arm bowler acknowledged that Kohli is the fiercest competitor among the Fab four (Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson in addition to Kohli). The Burnley-born bowler revealed that playing with Kohli on the field always felt like a battle, as he constantly wanted to challenge him.

“Obviously, I've said Joe Root there at the top. I think his ability to adapt to different conditions, he tinkers with his technique all the time just to sort of make sure he's ready for everything that's thrown at him. But I think the fiercest competitor out of those four is definitely Virat Kohli. The battles we had were incredible. He's the sort of guy you wanted to get into a battle with on the field because he really stood up, stood his ground, and obviously a fantastic player as well,” said Anderson in the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel.

talkSPORT Cricket@Cricket_TS

✅ "The fiercest competitor out of those 4 is definitely Kohli." 💪 "The battles we had were incredible. He really stood his ground & a fantastic player." Jimmy Anderson pays tribute to Virat Kohli after his retirement from Test Cricket 🏏 📺 WATCH: youtube.com/watch?v=dek4bu…

11:50 PM · May 13, 2025

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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 bowler also admitted that the visitors will be a tough challenge for the England players.

“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.

Kohli scored 305 runs at an impressive average of 43.75 in 36 innings, and fell to Anderson seven times. The Delhi-born scored 1096 runs in 33 innings on English soil at an average of 33.21.