Ben Stokes Can Emulate Virat Kohli’s Captaincy: Nasser Hussain Backs The Former For Stand-In Captain
Jul 6, 2020 at 2:00 PM
Although Ben Stokes will take charge of the national team in one Test of the three-match Test series against the West Indies, there has been a lot of debate to make him stand-in-captain. Well, former England captain Nasser Hussain has backed the allrounder to take the role for the first Test at Southampton.
The regular Test captain Joe Root will be unavailable for the first Test of the forthcoming home series against West Indies because he is expecting his second child’s birth during that time. And according to ECB’s guideline, Root, after returning from hospital, will have to go under seven days quarantine. So, his deputy Ben Stokes has been given the role of captain in the opening Test while Jonny Bairstow has been made the vice-captain.
Ben Stokes is a great choice: Nasser Hussain
Although former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has disagreed with ECB’s decision for handing Stokes the responsible job, Nasser Hussain has supported him to be the interim captain. He even said that the all-rounder would be able to emulate India’s Virat Kohli and his captaincy.
“Generally, what Ben does is a bit like Virat. Everything he does, he does it at 100 mile an hour. So, I think he will be an excellent captain, he’s only a stand-in captain. Joe Root is off with that baby, his second child. I think as a stand-in captain, I am absolutely behind it, absolutely great choice, very loyal as well to Joe Root,” Hussain said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.
Interestingly, Ben Stokes has never captained in the first-class cricket. It will be his first Test series as a captain.
Meanwhile, the West Indies have already arrived in England last month. They are serving the quarantine period at Old Trafford. Once all the COVID-19 tests will be done, the Test series will begin from July 8. It will be the first bilateral series that will be played amid the crises.