ENG vs IND 2018: Nasser Hussain Criticises Virat Kohli's Captaincy In First Test

Former England captain has criticised India skipper Virat Kohli for his captaincy in the first England vs India Test.

At a time when Kohli is drawing praise from all around for his stunning show with the bat in Edgbaston, Hussain did not hesitate in criticising the 29-year old for his captaincy decisions. Hussain was referring to the second innings when India let England off the hook.

England were reeling at 87 for 7. India were well on top of the game. However, India could not wrap up England’s tail as Sam Curran scored 63 to give England a good score to defend – 194. In reply, India were all out for 162. And Hussain believes it was Kohli’s naive decision of taking out R Ashwin from the attack that allowed England’s tail to score the vital runs.

“Kohli was phenomenal in this game. He deserved to be on the winning side for the way he played with the tail. He single-handedly brought India back into the Test match. I do think he should take some of the responsibility for the loss, though,” Hussain told Sky Sports.

“England were 87-7 with Curran and Adil Rashid at the crease and for some reason Ravichandran Ashwin went out of the game for an hour. India lost control then – he needs to look back on his captaincy and say ‘when I’ve got a bloke who averages 19 against left-handers and a 20-year-old left-hander on strike, why did I take him off?,” Hussain asked.

However, as a batsman, Kohli enjoyed a stunning game. The right-handed batsman waged a lone battle by scoring 149 and 51 in the game but the other batsmen let the team down.

Talking about the enthralling battle over four days, Hussain said the game was a great advert for Test cricket.

“The pitch has a lot to do with that – it wasn’t a flat belter – and so have the players. The standard of bowling and captaincy (has been great). I think Joe Root has been outstanding in this game.

“A lot of times nowadays we see one side get ahead in Test matches and series and then the other doesn’t seem capable of fighting back. This match has switched one way and then the other.”

The use of the Dukes ball also added to the excitement, felt Hussain.

“The template for Test cricket has been set and I don’t see why the ICC can’t just use the Dukes ball around the world. It produces exciting cricket, so why don’t the ICC go down that road?”