Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma praises Zaheer Khan and says he was a better bowler than England’s James Anderson.
Ishant Sharma Praises Zaheer Khan
Former Indian bowler Zaheer Khan is considered one of India’s most successful bowlers. During his career, Zaheer played 92 Tests, 200 ODIs and 17 T20I games and bagged 311, 282, and 17 wickets respectively.
On the other hand, James Anderson played 180 Tests, 194 ODIs and 19 T20I games and bagged 686, 269 and 18 wickets respectively. Though Anderson has bagged more than double the Test wickets of Zaheer, Ishant feels Zaheer as a better player.
Ishant feels that Anderson would not have been so successful, had he played most of his games in Indian conditions. Zaheer expressed his opinions in an interview with Ranveer Allahbadia on the latter’s YouTube channel.
“Jimmy Anderson’s bowling style and method is quite different. He plays in different conditions. He plays in England. Maybe if he played in India…,” said Ishant before Ranveer Allahbadia smiled and said, “…maybe he (Anderson) wouldn’t have found that kind of success.”
In reply, Ishant said: “Zak is better than Jimmy Anderson.”
While Zaheer has already announced his retirement from international cricket, Anderson still plays for his national team and remains a part of England’s Test team. The right-arm pacer was in the playing XI for the first Ashes 2023 Test against Australia.
Anderson had a poor outing in the first match as he could pick only one wicket and conceded 109 runs. The second Ashes test will begin on June 28 in Lord’s, London.
