There have been a lot of debate about Virat Kohli’s leadership skills and how he sometimes tends to be a reactive skipper rather being proactive. Adding to the debate, former England skipper Nasser Hussain has termed Joe Root as the better captain than Virat Kohli, stating that he’s not a big fan of Kohli’s on field tactics.
"In general, Root has been exceptional. It is India skipper Kohli who has been caught between two stools... I am not a massive fan of him as a tactician, because he tends to follow the ball and be a bit behind play at times, rather than dictating it. But as he and Root know, for all the analysis of actions and decisions, it is results that you are judged on," wrote Nasser Hussain for Daily Mail.
Nasser Hussain further went on to say the Ajinkya Rahane’s success in Australia has got Virat Kohli under pressure and hasn’t allowed the Indian skipper to be himself. Rahane drew massive applauds after his proactive leadership helped India beat Australia 2-1 in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
"After Ajinkya Rahane did so well deputizing in Australia, he has perhaps been a bit reluctant to be as much in-your-face as in the past. Maybe it was in the back of his mind to be a bit more smiley and allow his team freedom of expression. It was noticeable, though, when Rory Burns was out to the first ball of England's second innings that the old, animated Kohli was back. That to me is his strength as a captain — his drive, his passion and his aggression," said Hussain.
Virat Kohli hasn’t had a great outing as a skipper in the last few matches. First he lost 2-0 to New Zealand in New Zealand and then suffered a massive defeat at Adelaide, the only Test he played in Australia in the 2021 series. After a short break, Kohli was back as the Indian skipper but there was no change in his fortunes and India went down to England in the 1st Test at Chennai