Ishant Sharma stirs up a controversy during a recent interview where he stated that Zaheer Khan was a better bowler than James Anderson, hinting that the England legend probably would not have been that successful if he played in Indian conditions.

"Jimmy Anderson's bowling style and method is quite different. He plays in different conditions in England. May be if he played in India," said Ishant.  "Zak (Zaheer Khan). Zak is better than Jimmy Anderson," he added.

Sharma also spoke about Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar, who could be able to take the baton of the Indian pace attack forward if guided "properly.''

 "If you work properly with him, Umran Malik has the potential to do well for the country for a long period of time. The second would be Arshdeep Singh and third for me is Mukesh Kumar," he said.

Ishant also mentioned about his Delhi Capitals Mukesh Kumar, who has been picked for the Test and ODI series against West Indies where he praised his ability to bowl in tough situations.

"Not many people know his (Mukesh Kumar) story, but I haven't seen a man as simple as him. If you ask him to bowl a particular delivery, he will bowl only that. He needs the right guidance on the field so that when the pressure situation comes, he knows what delivery to bowl."

"He went for runs in IPL because he bowled the tough overs. No one sees the situation in which he bowled, or which batsman he bowled to. Everyone sees that he conceded 50 runs in 4 overs," said Sharma.