After a terrific win at Lord’s, it’s not the team that’s making news in British tabloids; but, the captain. Yes, Virat Kohli was at his aggressive best and English media wasn’t far behind in splashing Kohli the road fighter across its front pages. Continuing the trend, former England captain Nasser Hussain has written a column for Daily Mail where he opined that an aggressive Kohli was just what the doctor ordered for a team like India which has kowtowed its colonial masters.
“Virat Kohli is that the right man at the proper time to steer this formidable India side. His players, particularly the bowlers, want an aggressive captain. they need Kohli stirring things up, as he did so effectively in this brilliant second Test at Lord’s,” he wrote.
“Jasprit Bumrah has always seemed, to me a quiet and reserved character off the sector, but observe the way he attacked and went after Jimmy Anderson thereon third evening.”
He said he spoke to former India coach Duncan Fletcher who attested the very fact that Kohli is someone who wants to win in the slightest degree costs. He mentioned how fans must see the Indian captain play football; he represents the new India which won’t be pushed around.
The skipper hogged all the limelight at Lord’s as India went 1-0 up in five match series. This included having a go at James Anderson and gesturing to Rishabh Pant to ask the umpire to call off play on Day 4 because of bad light.
“Kohli’s aggression is geared toward effecting the opposition and he gets under the skin of each team he plays against. I’m sure most don’t particularly like playing against him and English supporters won’t particularly like him but he won’t care a jot this.”
“I remember chatting with Duncan Fletcher about Kohli when he was India coach and he just told me he was a winner. At almost any cost, too.”
“You just need to watch him playing football along with his team before play to determine how competitive their captain gets. He doesn’t mind sliding in with the odd wild tackle, that’s as expected. he’s so driven. Nothing sums that up better than the sight of Kohli in an exceedingly white-ball run-chase because he sees the tip goal and he won’t let any bowler get in his way.”
