Anderson's comments nothing but childish, says Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

James Anderson's attempt to ruffle Virat Kohli even before a ball in the Test series has been bowled has not gone down well with Indians, first there was Gautam Gambhir, and now it is former leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan who has hit back at the fast bowler, calling his tactics ineffective and his demeanour 'childish'.

Yesterday, speaking to TOI, Siva said, "This is a typical style of attacking the captain and trying to disintegrate his mind. Once you attack the captain, the entire team stands to suffer." He labelled it a strategy of the days of old and was of the view that it was not effective anymore, mostly because of the cohesion of Indian players with the overseas ones after eleven years of IPL cricket.

He further went on to nullify Anderson's remarks of Kohli being desperate to get some runs for himself in the series as he said, "Which batsmen doesn't want to get runs? More so in Test match cricket. Even Anderson, as a tail-ender, would try to score runs for his team. As captain.

"Kohli would try and do the same by scoring runs. But more than his runs, his team would be his top-most priority. Therefore, his comments are nothing but childish." Siva went on and challenged Anderson to get fit and pick some wickets instead of engaging in the vain frugality of words.

This is not the first time Anderson has had a take at Kohli, in 2016 he called out the Indian captain for being a home-track bully rather than being able to perform in challenging conditions, as a blunt reference to Kohli's disastrous 2014 tour of England.

While that remark was out of frustration and an inability to mar Kohli's concentration, it was somewhat hypocritical in nature as Anderson himself fades away in terms of both impact and figures as England leave the shores and play away from the overcast skies and without the heavily lacquered Duke ball that swings prodigiously.

Nevertheless, the constant baiting has set up an exciting contest and it will be interesting to note how Kohli fares in England with the pressure of expectations on his back, determination in mind, ghosts of the past and the sublime touch of the present.