Karachi: Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has criticised James Anderson for his uncharitable comments about Virat Kohli's technique, saying that the England pacer should first take wickets in India before questioning the Indian skipper's capabilities.
Anderson had recently said Kohli's technical deficiencies were not at display during the ongoing Test series between India and England because the pitches in India are devoid of bounce and there is lack of movement.
"It is surprising to me that Anderson should question Kohli's runs and ability because I haven't seen him take too many wickets in India," Inzamam said on the Geo Super sports channel here last night.
"Does Anderson mean to say that if you get runs in England you get some sort of certificate that makes you a quality batsman? Don't the English and Australian players struggle when they play in the sub-continent? Does that mean they are bad players or weak teams? To me it does not matter where you get runs because in Test matches runs are runs," the former Pakistan skipper added.
Inzamam, who played against the golden breed of Indian batsmen, rated Kohli highly.
"I always judge a batsman by seeing how many times the runs he scores leads to his team winning matches. In my opinion if a batsman scores 80 and it helps his team win, it matters more to me than someone scoring 150 and his team still losing.
"He is a quality player and when he is getting runs his team does well. That is important to judge or classify a batsman's value. There is hunger in him for runs," he said.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith had also aired similar views when he took to twitter to take a jibe at Anderson.
“Is Jimmy Anderson Saying he can only bowl in English conditions?” wrote Smith on his twitter handle.
Ironically, James Anderson has not picked up a single wicket in the last two matches at Mumbai and Mohali.