Virat Kohli should take some of the responsibility for the loss, says Nasser Hussain
While the whole world is praising Virat Kohli for his performance with the bat in the first Test against England at Edgbaston and his move to the top of ICC Test rankings, former England skipper Nasser Hussain has pointed out that the Indian skipper should take the blame for losing the first Test against England by 31 runs.
Kohli did take a few questionable decisions as he first dropped Cheteshwar Pujara from the Test side and then removed R Ashwin from the attack when Sam Curran walked out to bat in the second innings. Ashwin has been successful against left-handers and sans him, Curran got his eye in and went on to score a quick-fire 63 that turned the game for India.
Hussain has criticized Kohli for his decision to remove Ashwin from the attack for around one hour in spite of bowling well in the game.
"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 [Kohli] 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. 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?," Hussain said in an interview with the official broadcasters Sky Sports.
Author's Take
It is very difficult not to agree with the former England skipper. Yes, Kohli did make some strange decisions during the Test. One can only hope that Kohli corrects himself when he takes the field for the second Test at Lord's starting on August 9.