In the absence of Joe Root, the England Test squad will be under the captaincy of Ben Stokes when they take on West Indies starting Wednesday (June 8).
Backing Stokes and his captaincy, former England captain Nasser Hussain said the all-rounder will come out with flying colours. Hussain is hopeful the Stokes will 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.
Root is missing the first Test to be with his wife, Carrie, who is expecting their second child later this week. As for Stokes, this will be the fourth time he will captain a team.
In the past, Stokes has led a team only thrice: once for Durham under-17s and twice for Durham’s academy, having won, lost, and drawn a game each.
While Stokes becoming the future England captain should not be ruled out, many former England cricketers, including Kevin Pietersen, have opposed the idea. Hussain himself is unsure of Stokes being made in-charge full time.
“He won’t have any kind of grandeur thinking that this is my job for life. But as a long-term thing – all-rounder with so much on his plate, plays three formats, IPL possibly coming up – I think there’s too much on his shoulders, but never write-off Ben Stokes. He could make an exceptional captain, but I am worried a little bit about his workload in the future if he does it full time,” Hussain.
