Nasser Hussain wanted Virat Kohli to take responsibility for Birmingham defeat

India played their hearts out in the opening Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham, however, couldn’t evade a 31-run defeat. Virat Kohli’s stupendous knocks in both innings couple with some sterling bowling performances, especially by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma weren’t enough to guide the visiting team over the finishing line.

India needed 84 runs with five wickets remaining at the end of the third day, but they lost wickets at regular intervals to slump alarmingly. Stokes removed Kohli after which India’s hopes were severely dented. Hardik Pandya made a valiant attempt but in vain. Subsequently, they also lost six Tests at the very venue. After the defeat, Kohli asked the top order batsmen to look at themselves in the mirror.

The likes of Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, and Shikhar Dhawan promised briefly, but couldn’t substantiate their knocks. The Indian captain also put forth the resolute shows of the Indian lower order batters. Meanwhile, Nasser Hussain, who is currently a commentator with Sky Sports, mentioned that Kohli should’ve taken responsibility for the defeat. He also questioned Ravi Ashwin’s usage as the spinner.

He needs to look back on his captaincy

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

“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?'” the former English cricketer added.

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