‘I used to admire was his work ethic’ - Ravi Shastri in awe of England's star pacer

Ravi Shastri is a great admirer of professionalism and it was because of the England fast bowler, he used to be able to give the right idea to his players of what he was looking for. Shatri was the coach of Team India for a number of years and would use James Anderson as the perfect example to teach his players about professionalism and the amount of effort to put in each delivery.

James Anderson replaced Pat Cummins and surpassed Ravichandran Ashwin to claim the number one spot among bowlers in the most current Men's Test Rankings. Anderson has continued to perform admirably in Test matches.

The legendary Indian cricketer, Ravi Shastri complimented the English fast bowler, describing him as one of the game's all-time best pacers. Also, he talked about how he inspired the Indian fast bowlers while serving as the team's head coach by using Anderson's "work ethic."

What did Ravi Shastri say about the England veteran?

In a recent episode of ICC, Ravi Shastri spoke about the professionalism and work ethic of the right-arm fast bowler.

“I used to watch him so closely when I was a coach on tours of England every time. And what I used to admire was his work ethic. Even in Indian conditions, there were times he didn’t play in India. But he would go out to bowl at lunch or straight after the day’s play or before the day’s play. I would say he would bowl 20 balls or 25 balls at the most.” Shastri said. 

“But for every ball, he would give it his all. And at times I would tell my fast bowlers, ‘Just watch that. Just watch the professionalism, the work ethic’. And it’s not a half-hearted delivery. Those 15-20 balls, whatever they had to bowl, would be as if he’s bowling in a game. He bowls six and maybe takes a little break as if it’s someone else’s bowling. Then come back and do that. And then the action, the follow through and the rhythm, the running in, was just the same for all those 20 balls”. He, further, added.