India wouldn't have lost Hyderabad Test against England if Kohli was captain, says Vaughan (WATCH)

Despite being in a dominant position after securing a 190-run first innings lead, India, led by Rohit Sharma in the absence of Virat Kohli, suffered a surprising 28-run defeat to England in spin-friendly conditions.

Sunita Iyer

First Published Jan 31, 2024, 11:26 AM IST | Last Updated Jan 31, 2024, 11:26 AM IST

Former English skipper Michael Vaughan opined that India would not have lost the first Test against England in Hyderabad if Virat Kohli had been their captain. Vaughan suggested that Rohit Sharma appeared to have completely "switched off" during the game.

Despite being in a dominant position after securing a 190-run first innings lead, India, led by Rohit Sharma in the absence of Kohli, suffered a surprising 28-run defeat in spin-friendly conditions. This loss marked India's first-ever Test defeat in Hyderabad.

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Kohli, who missed the opening game, will also be absent for the second Test in Visakhapatnam due to personal reasons.

"They missed Virat Kohli's captaincy massively in Test cricket. Under Virat's captaincy that week, India wouldn't have lost the game," Vaughan said on YouTube channel 'Club Prairie Fire'. "Rohit is a legend and a great player. But I felt he just switched off completely."

Last week, Vaughan criticized Rohit for his lack of proactiveness during the series-opener.

"I thought Rohit Sharma's captaincy was very, very average. I thought he was so reactive, I don't think he maneuvered his field or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he didn't have any answer to Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps," Vaughan had written in his column for 'The Telegraph'.

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Kohli relinquished his captaincy after India's tour of South Africa in 2022, following a successful tenure during which the team achieved the top position in the ICC rankings.

The second Test is scheduled to commence on February 2 in Visakhapatnam. Alongside Virat, India will also be without the services of KL Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, both sidelined due to injuries.

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