Virat Kohli tactically naive, Nasser Hussain says Indian skipper yet to learn art of captaincy

Naseer Hussain has also expressed surprise at how defensive Kohli has been in the field so far in this series.

New Delhi: Indian skipper Virat Kohli might have led his side to a massive 246-run victory over England in the 2nd Test but former England cricketer Nasser Hussain isn't too impressed with Kohli's tactics as a captain.

In his column with the Daily Mail, Hussain has expressed surprise at how defensive Kohli has been in the field so far in this series.

"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. But I’ve found him tactically quite naïve.

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 round the bat early on — not when Alastair Cook and Hameed had been in for 20 or 30 overs.

And why did he not give Ravichandran Ashwin a bowl from the Dr Vizzy End, where he’d had his success in the first innings, until the 42nd over? It just didn’t make sense.

Kohli also changes his field virtually every ball, which is unsettling for his bowlers. If he’s constantly tinkering, it means they think they have to change their plans.

But this pitch in Visakhapatnam hasn’t required anything too out-of-the-box: just hit the wicket, bowl straight, and something will eventually happen. He seems overly worried about runs, which is the modern way. But when the opposition are chasing 405 on a wearing pitch, he really needn’t be.

All these things will improve with time. I just feel he needs to take a step back every now and then and realise he doesn’t have to be involved in absolutely everything."