'I'd love to bowl at Virat Kohli again': James Anderson drops major hint on Test retirement

'I'd love to bowl at Virat Kohli again': James Anderson drops major hint on Test retirement

James Anderson wants to bowl against Virat Kohli before retiring.

England pacer James Anderson has dropped a major hint on his retirement amid rumours that he might quit the sport soon. One of the best fast bowlers of the generation, Anderson has been a force to reckon with for England in Test cricket and is in no mood to stop anytime soon. The veteran pacer was recently seen in action during the one-off fifth Test between India and England in Edgbaston.

Anderson was on top of his game in the Edgbaston Test and picked up a total of six wickets across India's two innings but failed to bag the prized wicket of Virat Kohli. Anderson, who has troubled some of the best batters throughout his career, has enjoyed some memorable on-field battles with Kohli.

The duo share an epic rivalry on the pitch but remain good friends off it. Anderson has dismissed Kohli seven times in Test cricket and many believed their face-off in the Edgbaston Test earlier this month was the final time they had seen the two greats go up against each other.

However, the England legend has dropped a huge hint on his future and said he would like to bowl at Kohli one more time before he decided to quit cricket. Anderson only plays Test cricket for England and has not featured in white-ball cricket for a long time.

"Well, I do not know [when I will retire]. I would love to bowl at Virat again. So, maybe I will stick around for the next tour," said Anderson when asked about his retirement.

Anderson had dominated the battle between him and Kohli during India's tour of England in 2014 when he dismissed the Indian batter 4 times making it a nightmarish series for him. However, Kohli settled scores when India toured England in 2018 and scored 114 runs against him without giving him his wicket even once.

However, India are not expected to play a Test series against England anytime soon after the recently-concluded one-off fifth Test which was a rescheduled game from their tour last year. India will take on England in a Test series at home in 2024 and away in 2025, as per reports.

It remains to be seen if Anderson will stick around for another couple of years to enjoy his last battle with Kohli before hanging up his boots as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time.