James Anderson fears he and Stuart Broad might have played their last match together

Veteran England pacer James Anderson hopes to be reunited with his long-time partner Stuart Broad but admits they might have played their last match together.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been one of world cricket's most iconic bowling duos. The pair has shared more than 1100 wickets and between them, they have won innumerable Tests for England.

However, they have played only nine Tests together in the last two years with the last one being against Pakistan in August 2020.

England's workload management policies have meant the two most experienced pacers are rotated to play alongside the youngsters.

Speaking ahead of the 3rd Test between India and England, James Anderson remarked that the duo will try to remain fit with the aspiration to get a chance together in the home summer against India or during the Ashes.

"I love bowling with Stuart but It has definitely crossed our minds [that they have played their last Test together]. I just hope there will be times in a crucial match when they will need our experience. All we can do is try to stay in the best shape possible and if we do get the nod together next summer or in the back end of the year do our best for the team," said Anderson.

In the two completed Tests of the ongoing series, James Anderson and Stuart Broad have played one match each.

While Anderson put up a reverse swing masterclass (5-63) and won the first Test for England, Broad returned wicketless from the spin-favoring 2nd Test.

Perfection 😍 pic.twitter.com/q869C9z6kp

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 20, 2021

Anderson also talked about the possible makeup of England's pace attack for the 3rd Test, admitting there is a problem of plenty.

"It's another tricky one to predict. We have so many good fast bowlers in our group now. Olly Stoke was brilliant in the second Test, Mark Wood is back out here and if Jofra Archer is fit too we have a lot to choose from."

"I don't think I'm being shielded" - James Anderson

James Anderson

Opening up on the controversial rotation policy, James Anderson looked at the bigger picture and acknowledged the benefits of resting the players occasionally.

"I don't think I'm being shielded. It's a case of trying to stay fit as long as possible and England not bowling anyone into the dirt until they break. The best way to get your best players firing as long as possible is to give them a little rest every now and then," said Anderson.

The third Test will be a day/night affair and will kickstart on Wednesday, February 24.

1st look at Cricket’s 🏏 largest stadium 🏟 110,000 capacity pretty impressive 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/TvkPmti8y5

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) February 19, 2021