Virat Kohli is still a bit naive: Nasser Hussain

India might have clinched a win in the first match of the series against the English, but, a few like former England skipper Nasser Hussain has come out stating that he is not too impressed with the captaincy of Virat Kohli. The latter was made a full-time skipper when MS Dhoni announced his retirement in 2014 and has an impeccable record thus far.

However, Nasser Hussain’s column in the Daily Mail went on to write that it was indeed difficult for a captain to tick every box, but Virat Kohli had made a few surprising decisions on the field of play as skipper despite his obvious and impressive batting acumen. Nasser Hussain however, also went on to state that he loved the intensity the 28-year old showed.

Writing for The Daily Mail, Hussain stated, “It’s difficult for a captain to tick every box — and Virat Kohli ticks plenty of them. But, for such a wonderfully attacking player, I’m surprised by how defensive he’s been in the field so far in this series.

“India may well win this second Test, but some of his decisions on the fourth afternoon, when England’s openers were fighting hard, were strange. Don’t get me wrong. Kohli is still young in captaincy terms, and he will get better. He leads by example and wears his heart on his sleeve. I really enjoy the passion he shows out in the middle.”

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He further said, “But I’ve found him tactically quite naive. It was odd that when England began their second innings, Kohli began with a slip, a gully and two men on the hook for Haseeb Hameed, who almost never plays the hook shot — despite India having a lead of over 400. 

“On an up-and-down pitch, he had his bowlers operating on one side of the wicket, rather than aiming at the stumps, and he should have had men around the bat early on — not when Alastair Cook and Hameed had been in for 20 or 30 overs.”