Generally, What Ben Stokes Does Is A Bit Like Virat Kohli: Nasser Hussain

Former English captain Nasser Hussain has not fallen short of words for all-rounder Ben Stokes. The first Test against the West Indies in Southampton will witness Ben Stokes’ role as the captain and Nasser Hussain is confident of him excelling in that role. Hussain also drew comparisons of Stokes’ playing style to that of the Indian captain, Virat Kohli.

Also Read: Sourav Ganguly Picks Three Players From The 2019 World Cup Team He Would Like In His 2003 Team

It will be the first time that the New Zealand-born all-rounder would lead the English side since regular skipper Joe Root will not play the first Test. Root and his wife are anticipating the birth of his second child. Following his extraordinary showing in the 2019 World Cup, the English selectors decided to reinstate Ben Stokes as the Test vice-captain, having stripped it in 2017 due to the bar brawl incident.

Nasser Hussain opines that whatever Stokes does is like Virat Kohli, doing it at 100 mile an hour. Hence, Hussain backs him to be an excellent leader. Kohli is one of the greatest players today and a passionate one and so is the England all-rounder.

“Generally, what Ben does is a bit like Virat. Everything he does, he does it at 100 mile an hour. So, I think he will be an excellent captain, he’s only a stand-in captain,” the cricketer-turned commentator said as quoted by India Today.

Hussain continued by saying that as a stand-in-captain, the 29-year old is a brilliant choice and exceptionally loyal to Joe Root, who will return for the last two Tests. The 52-year old further stated that Stokes would not see it as a job for life.

“Joe Root is off with that baby, his second child. I think as a stand-in captain, I am absolutely behind it, absolutely great choice, very loyal as well to Joe Root. He won’t have any kind of grandeur thinking that this is my job for life,”

Hussain worried about Ben Stokes’ workload in the event of a full-time captain:

The Chennai-born former batsman supports Ben Stokes to be an exceptional full-time captain but fears that the workload might not get the better of him. Nasser feels that playing all three formats apart from featuring in the IPL rises the weight on his shoulders and can drain the star all-rounder.

“As a long-term thing all-rounder with so much on his plate, plays three formats, IPL possibly coming up I think there’s too much on his shoulders, but never write-off Ben Stokes. He could make an exceptional captain, but I am worried a little bit about his workload in the future if he does it full time,” the 52-year old added.

Also Read: “He Had Great Trust In My Abilities”: Babar Azam Reveals Who Backed Him When He Was A Newbie