“Zak is Better Than Jimmy Anderson,” Declares India Pacer of Zaheer Khan. This is Why

The best fast bowler in the game right now is thought to be James Anderson. He ranks third overall and first among pacers in Test cricket with 686 wickets. His best bowling figures in a game were 11/71. He has been terrorizing elite batters for twenty years and has recorded 32 five-wicket hauls in this format. Ishant Sharma, an Indian speedster, believes Anderson was surpassed as a bowler by Zaheer Khan, a former left-arm pacer for India.

Ishant claimed that if Anderson had played the majority of his games in Indian conditions, he would not have been as successful in a YouTube interview with Ranveer Allahabadia.

Jimmy Anderson bowls in a very different manner and with a different style. In England, he plays under various circumstances. Perhaps if he performed in India,” Ishant paused.

Perhaps he wouldn’t have found that kind of success, the anchor grinned.

Ishant replied, “Zak is better than Jimmy Anderson.”

In the longest format, Zaheer played 92 times for India and took 311 wickets. He also took 282 wickets while playing 200 ODIs for India. With 11 five-wicket hauls, the former left-arm pacer finished his Test career.

Ishant continued by describing an incident that occurred in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2014, during the India vs. New Zealand Test match. Social media platforms have several videos of Ishant cursing as Brendon McCullum makes three runs off his bowling before Zaheer picks up the bowl and throws it back.

The seasoned Indian pacer clarified that he was only angry with himself and that he has never insulted any of his teammates, not even for missing a catch off his bowling.

“I had told myself that. People still don’t know who I said that to to this day. I’ve never been abusive to anyone who misses a catch. That is offensive to say to Zak. He truly resembles a guru to me. I would never have even considered saying something like that. Just the fact that Brendon McCullum was scoring so many runs made it frustrating. There were only me, Zak, and [Mohammed] Shami as fast bowlers. We had to bowl again almost every four overs, and the wicket was very flat. I was just getting rid of my own frustration, he said.

Zaheer retired from international cricket in 2012, but Anderson is still playing as a Test cricket specialist internationally and is currently a member of the England squad for the Ashes in 2023. In the recently completed Edgbaston Test against Australia, he performed poorly, managing just one wicket while giving up 109 runs.