Under Virat Kohli's captaincy India wouldn't have lost first Test: Michael Vaughan

India were handed a shocking defeat by England in the first Test of the five-match series as they beat the hosts by 28 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The Ben Stokes-led side had conceded a 190-run lead in the first innings but didn’t lose hope as Ollie Pope led the fightback with his sensational 196 and later debutant Tom Hartley bundled out India for 202 with his 7-fer.

Following India’s loss, captain Rohit Sharma has come under fire for not being proactive with his leadership in the second innings and allowing England to make a comeback. Former England captain Michael Vaughan is the latest person to criticise Rohit’s tactics saying that India wouldn’t have lost the first Test under Virat Kohli’s captaincy.

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"They missed Virat Kohli's captaincy massively in Test cricket. Under Virat's captaincy that week, India wouldn't have lost the game. Rohit is a legend and a great player. But I felt he just switched off completely," wrote Michael Vaughan in his column for The Telegraph.

Further speaking ahead, Vaughan termed Rohit’s captaincy average highlighting his inability to counter Ollie Pope’s sweep strategy against the spinners.

"I thought Rohit Sharma's captaincy was very, very average. I thought he was so reactive, I don’t think he maneuvered his field or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he didn’t have any answer to Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps," he added.

England riding high on confidence after first Test win

Earlier, former England spinner Monty Panesar also mentioned that India missed Kohli’s intensity on the field during the second innings. Notably, the star batter has withdrawn from the first two Tests due to personal reasons and will be dearly missed in the second Test as India are carrying an inexperienced batting lineup without KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja.

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Hence, Captain Rohit has a lot to think about heading into the second Test regarding the team combination and his tactics. On the other hand, England have knocked out India with the first punch through their Bazball strategy. They will be riding high on confidence following an improbable win heading into the second Test beginning from Friday, February 02 in Visakhapatnam.