'England supporters won't like Kohli but he doesn't care a jot about that': Hussain on India captain ahead of third Test

Virat Kohli’s on-field behaviour has been talked about as much as his brilliant batting and captaincy. Former England captain Nasser Hussain was the latest to talk about the Indian captain’s aggressive attitude. Hussain said most players don’t like to play against Kohli as he gets under the skin of the opposition.

“Kohli's aggression is aimed at winding up the opposition and he gets under the skin of every team he plays against. I'm sure most don't particularly like playing against him and English supporters won't particularly like him but he won't care a jot about that,” Hussain wrote for Daily Mail ahead of the third India-England Test at Headingley, starting on Wednesday.

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Hussain also narrated an interesting story about his conversation with former India head coach Duncan Fletcher about Kohli.

“I remember speaking to Duncan Fletcher about Kohli when he was India coach and he just told me he was a winner. At almost any cost, too.

“You just have to watch him playing football with his team before play to see how competitive their captain gets. He doesn't mind sliding in with the odd wild tackle, that's for sure. He is so driven. Nothing sums that up better than the sight of Kohli in a white-ball run-chase because he sees the end goal and he won't let any bowler get in his way,” Hussain said.

The captain’s form with the bat however, has not been that great this year. He is yet to score fifty in this Test series against England but Hussain said, Kohli’s main aim is to win the series and he won’t care about his own performance as long as India are winning.

“You could argue that Kohli is putting so much into the captaincy of India now in his pursuit of a first Test series win in England as skipper that it has taken something away from his batting.

“He seems vulnerable again outside off-stump, as he was when he played here in 2014. Certainly he got out after a nothing shot to a wide ball from Sam Curran at Lord's and the Kohli of the 2018 tour would have left that.

“But he knows how much it will mean to India to win this series. And he will judge himself on the results of the next three Tests rather than the runs he scores. He'd certainly be gutted if he scored centuries at Leeds and the Oval but lost the series anyway,” Hussain said.