Nasser Hussain criticises Virat Kohli's captaincy after Edgbaston loss

Former England captain and commentator Nasser Hussain has questioned Virat Kohli's captaincy in the first Test and said that the skipper should take some responsibility for the team's loss.

Although Hussain was all praise for Kohli the batsman, he said he was not very convinced by some of his tactics.

Speaking with Sky Sports, he said, "Kohli was phenomenal in this game. He deserved to be on the winning side for the way he played with the tail. He singlehandedly brought India back into the Test match. I do think he should take some of the responsibility for the loss, though.

'Kohli needs to look back on his captaincy'

The former captain, who never really minces his words, said he was puzzled when Kohli allowed the game to drift after England were reduced to 87/7 and Ashwin was taken off the attack.

"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.

Kohli was brilliant in the Test match and his 149 in India's first innings at Edgbaston was his maiden Test century in England and dragged India close to the hosts' score. He then backed it up with 51 in the second innings, before he was dismissed by Ben Stokes, which sealed the deal for England. 

There was a general consensus that the Edgbaston Test was a great advert for Test cricket and the pitch was an absolute beauty for the game to move forward. Joe Root spoke about it and Hussain nodded along in agreement.

"The pitch has a lot to do with that – it wasn't a flat belter – and so have the players. The standard of bowling and captaincy (has been great). I think Joe Root has been outstanding in this game," the former right-hander added.