‘Go on long holiday’: Ravi Shastri’s stunner on Ranchi spectator’s ‘…when James Anderson retires’ poster

No other player in world cricket epitomises or has epitomised ‘age is just a number’ than James Anderson. Even at 41, the England fast bowler has remained a vital cog in the Test side, picking wickets every time the team needs a breakthrough, and breaking milestones at will.

In fact, two of his present teammates – Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed – were not even born, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, India’s youngest player in the squad, was only a year old when Anderson made his debut. The age factor has always sparked questions about when Anderson would bid adieu to the sport, but the evergreen bowler has always silenced the talk around it, only adding to the amazement of how threatening he still has been.

On Saturday, after Anderson had taken the new ball to kick off the proceedings for the second innings in fourth Test against India after England amassed 353 in the first innings, the cameraman caught a Ranchi spectator with a poster on the right-arm pacer. It “I will start to study when James Anderson retires.”

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was in the commentary box, quickly reacted to the scene in stunning fashion, saying that it wasn’t happening anytime soon.

“You’ve got to wait, young man. You are not studying soon, go on a long holiday. It is not happening any time soon,” he said.