"I used to watch him so closely when I was a coach on tours of England" - Ravi Shastri credits James Anderson after becoming top-ranked Test bowler

Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri lauded James Anderson after the veteran England seamer became the number one-ranked Test bowler in the world. The 60-year-old believes Anderson deserved to reach the summit, given his work ethic.

The right-arm seamer dethroned Australian captain Pat Cummins, who held the top spot in the ICC Test bowling rankings for the last four years.

The 40-year-old also became the oldest bowler to reach the summit since Clare Grimmet did so in 1936.

Speaking on the latest episode of the ICC Review, Shastri recalled how he used to ask the Indian players to take cues from Anderson's bowling as the veteran bowler threw his everything on every ball.

He said:

"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 continued:

"But 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 added:

"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."

The right-arm seamer became the second-most capped player in Test cricket history during the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney last year.

The Lancashire bowler picked up seven wickets in the first Test against New Zealand at Bay Oval and has 682 scalps in 178 Tests at 25.94.

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"You can't play at 40 and produce these kinds of results unless you are supremely fit" - Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri. (Image Credits: Getty)

Shastri labeled the Englishman a 'role model' and reckons players can't continue playing until 40 if they are not fit. The former all-rounder warned that Anderson can bully any batter in English conditions, adding:

"So these are real professionals, and a stickler for fitness. You can't play at 40 and produce these kinds of results unless you are supremely fit. So, hats off. Well done, Jimmy. I would say. He’s a role model. He inspires so many."

He concluded:

"Leave alone batters playing at the age of 40, but for a fast bowler to play at 40, you just salute it. He is a master of his craft and as good as any swing bowler you've seen in English conditions. You've got to know where your off stump is. Otherwise he'll find it very quickly and he will expose you badly."

Meanwhile, Anderson will take the field when England face New Zealand in the second Test in Wellington on Friday.