NEW DELHI: With India set to announce the squad for the final three Tests against England in a day or two, former England captain Nasser Hussain is hoping for a Virat Kohli comeback for the remainder of the series.
Kohli had earlier withdrawn from the first two Tests, citing personal reasons and his return for the last three games still remains unclear.
With England pulling off a surprise win in Hyderabad and India bouncing back in style in Vizag to level at 1-1, Hussain feels the only thing missing in the enthralling series is the Virat Kohli vs James Anderson battle.
The Anderson vs Kohli rivalry has been a remarkable affair over the years with England stalwart having dismissed the star India batter 7 times in 25 matches in the traditional format.
“I hope he does come back because the only thing this series has been missing is the battle between Kohli and Jimmy Anderson. I’m looking forward to that,” Hussain said in a Q&A session for the Daily Mail.
Hussain also felt that Kohli’s return will also bring a lot more ruthlessness to the Indian side.
“The one thing about India is that in three of their four innings, they have been a bit sloppy. I know Rahul Dravid, and he would have been ticking inside at some of the dismissals so far. India will think, ‘We keep on giving England a sniff here, let’s be more ruthless’. And the one thing Kohli is, is absolutely ruthless,” Hussain said.
Sources earlier said that BCCI’s top brass will be speaking with Kohli to get a clearer picture on his participation in the series.
“Family comes first as BCCI’s press release stated and Virat will only play if he feels that he is in a position to play,” a BCCI source told PTI.