Nasser Hussain says Virat Kohli needs to shoulder some blame for India's Edgbaston loss

Sudhir Gupta 12:26 05/08/2018
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  • Kohli's captaincy has come in for some criticism.

    Virat Kohli might have been phenomenal with the bat at Edgbaston but former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes the India man must shoulder some of the blame for his side’s 31-run loss.

    The India skipper registered scored of 149 and 51 in the two innings at Edgbaston but some of the captaincy decisions made by him have not impressed Hussain.

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

    “England were 87-7 with Sam Curran and Adil Rashid at the crease and for some reason Ravichandran Ashwin went out of the game for an hour. 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?” he asked.

    Sam Curran had defied India with a superb half-century.

    Sam Curran had defied India with a superb half-century.

    The former England skipper instead heaped praise on young Sam Curran for his all-rounder performance to win the match for the hosts.

    “He has won England this game. India might say Kohli got 200 runs but who turned this game around? A 20-year-old. It’s a phenomenal achievement. He changed the course of two innings. He came on with India 50-0 and pitched it up, swung it and got four for nothing and he then went in with England 87-7.” he said

    “After his first game you thought he was maybe a bits-and-pieces cricketer and wondered whether he was quick enough, could move it enough and if he was a proper batsman. I always used to say ‘pick someone on their character more than what they are showing in county cricket’. He has character in abundance,” Hussain added.

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