‘People confuse Rohit as a laidback cricketer’ – Nasser Hussain compares Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s captaincy styles

Nasser Hussain. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The transition of Indian captaincy from the intense and aggressive Virat Kohli to therelaxed and composed Rohit Sharma has been fascinating. As India recently concluded a dominating 4-1 Test series win over England at home, former England captain Nasser Hussain provided an interesting perspective on Rohit’s captaincy.

Kohli’s captaincy tenure from 2014 to 2022 was marked by his in-your-face aggression and intensity. He stepped down as white-ball skipper after the 2021 World Cup and that was followed by his controverisal removal as Test captain following India’s 2022 tour of South Africa, where the team lost the series 2-1 after winning the first Test. Kohli passed the baton to Rohit Sharma who was leading the Mumbai Indians in IPL.

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People confuse Rohit as a laidback cricketer: Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain highlighted Rohit’s excellence as a captain and a batter during the recently concluded England series. Despite facing a setback in the first game in Hyderabad, the Indian team came back strong to secure a commanding 4-1 victory. 

“I think sometimes people confuse Rohit as a laidback cricketer who just lets the game drift. There is a lot of skill, thought, and brilliance about his batting. And I thought he had an excellent series as captain. He said in the press conference that he has had to learn and adapt his style of captaincy at times,” Nasser said to Sky Sports.

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Hussain drew a contrast between Rohit’s laidback approach and Kohli’s in-your-face aggression. “Don’t confuse (Rohit with Virat’s captaincy) because he has come off the back of Virat Kohli. In your face, aggressive captain. In the huddle at Lord’s, saying let’s unleash hell on the England batting lineup. Rohit is not quite the same sort of person. He has that fire burning within,” he said.