England pacer Stuart Broad downplays Virat Kohli- James Anderson battle

Birmingham, July 30: Ahead of the opening Test against India starting here Wednesday, seasoned England pacer Stuart Broad on Monday downplayed the head-to-head battle between visiting captain Virat Kohli and veteran quick James Anderson.

“I really don’t agree with the theory that one particular bowler can target a world-class batsman,” Broad was quoted as saying by the International Cricket Council (ICC) website.

“You have to have that pressure and theatre at both ends against that sort of quality — that’s when you get mistakes.

“If he’s able to really watch Jimmy (Anderson) and play carefully but score off me, you’re taking away any advantage as a team.

“As a bowling unit, we will just have to make it as hard for all of their batsmen to score early runs, but particularly a key player like Virat. We have to try and create pressure that way,” he added.

The 32-year-old Broad, who is returning to action after recovering from an ankle injury, felt that he is back to full fitness ahead of the gruelling five-Test rubber against No.1-ranked India.

“I am going in 100 percent fit and you can’t say that too often. It’s an exciting place to be,” he said.

With five matches to be played in six weeks, Broad also expected the bowlers to be rotated during the series so that the workload can be handled properly.

“There have already been small conversations about you shouldn’t be disheartened if you are left out for a Test match,” he said.

“It’s not a personal attack or dropping: it’s a management of your bowlers to make sure we give ourselves the best chance,” he added. IANS