Ben Stokes has very similar characteristics to Virat Kohli, he wants to win: Nasser Hussain

International cricket is finally in all likeness to return when England takes on West Indies in the three-match Test series. For the England team, there will be a welcome change. Skipper Joe Root is likely to miss the first or the first two Test matches of the summer. The captain has decided to spend time with his wife, who will give birth to their second child soon.

With Root not available, Ben Stokes will be leading the England team. Root has backed the all-rounder to perform well as the captain. Now, Stokes has found another voice of support from Nasser Hussain.

The former England captain in a recent interaction addressed this matter and seemed quite positive regarding it. Hussain compared Stokes’ characteristics to Virat Kohli. Interestingly, Root also had said something similar about his deputy.

Ben Stokes is a fighter of a character: Nasser Hussain

“He [Stokes] is a fighter of a character,” Hussain said. “He thinks from every situation, you can win that game, and we have seen that at Headingley, we have seen that at the World Cup. He has very similar characteristics to Kohli, to be honest. He wants to win,” Hussain said while speaking Sony Ten’s Pit Stop show.

The cricketer-turned-commentator further said he feels Stokes would be a good captain. However, Hussain also pointed out at the history of English cricket’s wrong choices of captains. He gave an example of Ian Botham, who was an exceptional player but wasn’t the best captain. Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen also had similar fates as captains of the national side.

“I think he would make a very good captain. The only problem with that is, I would say, in England, sometimes we have made our best cricketers and our all-rounder’s captains, whether it be [Ian] Botham or whoever. Sometimes, it doesn’t sit when you’ve got so much on your plate,” Hussain added.

Hussain then went on to say that he likes the combination of Root as the captain and Stokes as the vice-captain. He referenced Stokes as a leader who doesn’t need an ‘arm-band’.

“And Ben is a leader in that dressing room anyway. People look at Stokes, even if he is vice-captain and go, ‘What’s Ben doing? How would Ben do this?’ I like it the way it is at the moment – Joe [Root]’s captain, Ben is your vice-captain. There are leaders that don’t need the arm-band and I think Ben Stokes is one of those. But I think on a short-term basis, Ben Stokes in a one-off game at the Ageas Bowl, or maybe a couple of games, I think he would stand in and do a very good job,” Hussain concluded.