IND vs ENG 2024: Took tips from Zaheer Khan on reverse swing, says James Anderson

England’s veteran fast bowler James Anderson has revealed that he took reverse swing tips from former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan. The former left-arm pacer was a great exponent of reverse swing and Anderson tried to take a leaf out of Khan’s book.

Anderson, 41, is still going strongly in his career and still has some fuel left in his tank. The veteran pacer has scalped 698 wickets in 186 Test matches at an average of 26.52 and he is only two wickets away from reaching the milestone of 700 wickets. Anderson will become the first fast bowler to reach the landmark.

“For me, Zaheer Khan was someone I used to watch a lot to try and learn from,” Anderson told JioCinema. “How he used the reverse swing, how he covered the ball when he ran into bowl, that’s something I tried to sort of develop on the back of playing against him quite a few times here.”

On the other hand, James Anderson also showered praise on India’s gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. The ace pacer was rested in the fourth Test match at Ranchi but he has bagged 17 wickets in three Test matches.

“With someone of his quality you expect that standard from him. You know that reverse swing can play a big part in India and he’s a great exponent of it. He’s got good pace and is very accurate, very consistent. That yorker we saw to Ollie Pope, he’s got that up his sleeve as well. It’s not a fluke that he’s got to number one in the world. He’s a world-class bowler and from our point of view we weren’t surprised that he put up a performance like that.”

Anderson added he is ready to keep going at the top level and doesn’t feel like he is 41 years and 200 days old.

“Yeah, I guess you do look at things like that, but to be honest, I just go with the feel of me and my body. I don’t feel like I’m 41 years and 200 days old. You know, I still feel young. I can keep up with the young guys in training. I can still bowl the speeds that I want to, I can still deliver the skills that I want to. So, for me that’s the most important thing. Age is just a number and it’s pretty irrelevant from my thought process,” he said.

The fifth and final Test match will be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala from March 7.