"India Have Not Been...": England Great's Criticism Of 'Virat Kohli-Less' Hosts

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that India has not been as ruthless with the bat in the absence of star Indian batter Virat Kohli during the first two Tests against England at home. India has drawn level the five-match series 1-1 and Virat missed the first two Tests due to personal reasons. The batter is set to miss the third and fourth Test matches against England in Rajkot and Ranchi as well, according to a report from ESPNcricinfo. The former India skipper also is doubtful for the final match of the series against England in Dharamshala, the report said.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Nasser said that without Virat's aggression and "in-your-face" attitude, India has suffered in their batting.

"He is [Virat Kohli] an aggressive cricketer. He is an in-your-face cricketer, but actually, I think with the bat, in three of the four innings, India have not quite been ruthless as they would have liked to be," said Nasser.

"It is 1-1 and they have batted very well. The likes of KL Rahul batted well, and Shubman Gill and young Jaiswal, with his double hundred, played brilliantly."

He also said that the Indian batters are facing a lot of soft dismissals in the series, something Virat does not face as he is "driven by runs and winning games."

"There have been some soft dismissals in that Indian batting lineup, and it has left him vulnerable at times. One thing Kohli is with batting is ruthless. He does not do soft dismissals. He is driven by getting runs and winning games. So, they will miss that. Any side would miss the class of Virat Kohli," he said.

The former English skipper was also critical of his side's batting while pointing out India's issues with converting great starts to big scores, saying that hitting 30s and 40s