Ravi Ashwin opens up on Anderson - Bumrah spat

Apart from India winning an epic Test match at Lord’s, James Anderson vs Jasprit Bumrah duel became one of the prominent talking points of the game. It all started on Day 3 when Bumrah dished out a barrage of bouncers to Anderson which apparently didn’t go down well with the veteran England seamer. Indian skipper Virat Kohli too got into the act and had a go at Anderson.

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At the end of Day, Bumrah patted Anderson on the back in a friendly gesture but the frustrated seamer was not appeased and was seen giving it back to Bumrah. India’s premier off-spinner Ravi Ashwin has now opened up on what transpired between Bumrah and Anderson on Day 3.

"The thing was, Jimmy was like, ‘Hey mate! Why are you bowling so fast? Am I doing the same to you?’. The beauty about that is, looks like Jimmy had told Boom (Bumrah), ‘All this while, you were bowling in 80 m/h; suddenly on seeing me, why are you bowling in 90 m/h?’," Ashwin told India fielding coach R Sridhar on the spinner’s YouTube channel.

With Anderson having featured in more than 150 Test matches and being a seasoned campaigner in dealing things, Ashwin was surprised at how a player like Anderson can say such words to Bumrah.

"What was surprising to me what that kind of question. I agree, maybe he was shaken. Getting hit on the helmet is definitely not easy and, I empathize with him, but still, that kind of a statement coming from Jimmy was a surprise to me."

Ashwin is yet to get a game during the England Tests as Kohli has opted to play only one spinner for time being.