Former England captain Nasser Hussain credited captain Virat Kohli for his role in creating a winning mentality in the Indian team and said that despite Ajinkya Rahane leading the team to series victory in Australia, Kohli is still the main man.
Virat Kohli returned home from the Australia tour for the birth of his first child after Team India suffered a batting debacle at Adelaide in the first Test match of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar trophy.
The Indian team in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli led by Ajinkya Rahane then scripted a glorious turnaround to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a 2-1 margin.
However, ever since Ajinkya Rahane led Team India to a historic Test series win in Australia, Kohli's future as Test captain has been in debate over the past few days as there has been a lot of talks on how Ajinkya Rahane's leadership in Australia could put Virat Kohli under pressure in the Test series against England.
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Nasser Hussain in his latest column for Daily Mail said that Virat Kohli is still the main man and is like a god-like figure in India.
"Virat Kohli is still the main man, make no mistake. He is still that god-like figure in India, let alone Indian cricket, and he will be very much in charge for Friday’s first Test against England,” Nasser Hussain wrote.
Hussain credited Ajinkya Rahane for leading India to a series victory down under in absence of Virat Kohli and said that leadership skills that Rahane showed in Australia might put Kohli under a bit of pressure.
"All the 2-1 win over Australia did was give India another option as captain if things do not go according to plan, because Ajinkya Rahane did the exceptionally well-taking charge of the last three Tests while Kohli was on paternity leave.
That was one of the greatest wins in India’s history and Rahane, with his calm captaincy style, would have taken a lot of credit. So that might add a bit of pressure to the returning Kohli," he said.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Nasser Hussain further applauded Virat Kohli for his role in creating a winning mentality in the Indian team and said that Kohli is responsible for the modern Indian attitude of winning every game.
"A lot of Kohli’s passion was there in his absence in Australia. India would not be bullied. They would not be beaten by that first Test humiliation and they would not stand down when one of their players, Mohammed Siraj, was racially abused in Sydney.
“Just because Kohli wasn’t captaining at the time, it doesn’t mean the culture he has created was missing. He more than anyone is responsible for the modern Indian attitude on the field to match their power off it. They have a swagger," Hussain wrote.
Hussain, 52, said that the emergence of Rahane as a candidate for captaincy gives England a chance to create some flutter in the Indian camp and added that by starting well in the Test series Joe Root led side can put Kohli under pressure.
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"What I would say is something that was unthinkable just a couple of months ago — Kohli one day being replaced as captain is a possibility now. And if the first Test in Chennai doesn’t go well for India — and that’s a massive ‘if’ — the whole country will be asking whether Rahane should have stayed in charge.
“That’s why England must start well. If India bullies them in this first Test and go 1-0 up, everything will be forgotten and Kohli will be the king again. But if Joe Root can put some doubt in India's minds, then this series could suddenly become very interesting," he concluded.
(Daily Mail Inputs)
