"Rohit Sharma is no Virat Kohli.."- Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has explained the key difference in the captaincy styles of India captain Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli. Rohit Sharma has been receiving praise from several quarters for his leadership in the recently concluded five-match Test series against England.

In the absence of some big names such as Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami as well as KL Rahul, who played just the first Test, India managed to come from behind and win the series by a dominating margin of 4-1.

With the India captain leading a team filled with several youngsters and inexperienced players to such a dominating win, he has been receiving accolades from several quarters. Nasser Hussain recently talked about Rohit Sharma’s captaincy during a conversation with Michael Atherton on Sky Sports.

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“I think sometimes people confuse Rohit as a laidback cricketer who just lets the game drift. There is a lot of skill, thought, and brilliance about his batting. And I thought he had an excellent series as captain. He himself said in the press conference that he has had to learn and adapt his own style of captaincy at times.

“Earlier on in the series, he didn’t bowl (Ravi) Ashwin with the new ball. And (Ben) Duckett, sitting there and waiting with his nemesis Ashwin, would get to the 60s-70s before Ashwin comes on. But Rohit learned from something he wasn’t getting right. In cricket, there is a grey area in there, and you do not get things right, sometimes,” Hussain said.

Also read: “Rohit Sharma is no Virat Kohli..”- Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain on Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli captaincy:

Speaking further, Hussain explained how Rohit Sharma’s captaincy is different from Virat Kohli’s. Rohit took charge of the Indian Test team in 2022. Since then, he has led India in a five-Test series and is yet to lose a series. Hussain said that while Rohit has the fire burning within, he is not as aggressive as Kohli.

“When you got Bumrah and Siraj, with the new ball burst. The use of Ashwin later in the second innings with the new ball, has been pivotal. So don’t confuse (Rohit with Virat’s captaincy) because he has come off the back of Virat Kohli. In your face, aggressive captain. In the huddle at Lord’s, saying let’s unleash hell on the England batting lineup.

“Rohit is not quite the same sort of person. He has that fire burning within. And also Rahul as well, we know Rahul Dravid, losing that game in Hyderabad, would have hurt Rahul Dravid. Because they were ahead in that game. And one thing Dravid isn’t is, ruthless, and he would have wanted them to be more ruthless. I think we saw signs of that as the series progressed,” Hussain added.

Meanwhile, both Rohit and Kohli will be seen in action next later this month when IPL 2024 gets underway. Rohit will be playing for Mumbai Indians while Kohli will be plying his trade for Royal Challengers Bangalore. IPL 2024 is scheduled to get underway on March 22.

Also read: James Anderson to retire after India drubbing? England pacer opens up for the first time after the series