Nasser Hussain names four batsmen he would pay to watch

Nasser Hussain, the former England skipper, has picked Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar, India’s Virat Kohli, West Indies’ Brian Lara and his own countryman Dawid Gower as the players he would pay to watch. About Anwar, Hussain said that his strokes on the off-side had ‘grace and elegance’.

The southpaw had nearly 13,000 runs in a career that spanned from 1989 to 2003. Anwar also held the record for the highest individual ODI score of 194. He retired from the game after Pakistan’s match against Zimbabwe in the 2003 edition of the World Cup in the African continent.

“In terms of being easy on the eye, Saeed Anwar had an elegance and grace through the off-side,” Hussain was quoted as saying during a Q&A session with Daily Mail.

Hussain has also been in awe of the legendary Lara, who is the only batsman to have an individual score of 400 in Test cricket. Hussain was impressed with Lara’s high back-lift that helped him generate power in his strokes and also depicted the Caribbean flair.

Nasser Hussain names his childhood hero

Virat has also caught Hussain’s eyes. The Delhi-born Kohli has 70 international centuries to his name and is expected to add more to his tally. Most importantly, he thrives under pressure in run-chases. Nasser feels that the 31-year-old has the potential to chase down any score in the ODI format.

“I’ve been watching some old footage of Brian Lara with that big back-lift and, wow, could he bat. Virat Kohli in a 50-over run chase. He just seems to chase down any score every time,” Hussain said.

Gower, on the other hand, notched in excess of 11,300 runs for the Three Lions in a career from 1978 to 1992. Having scored 25 centuries and 51 half-centuries, the Kent-born was a stalwart in the Brits’ lineup. Hussain reminisced a shot Gower played during a county match.

“But I have to go for my childhood hero David Gower. I remember an early game against Leicestershire and I was at cover point as he leant on one and before I could move it hit the boundary boards behind me. Everything I had admired was there in front of my eyes,” he added.