Nasser Hussain decodes issues amidst Ollie Pope's batting struggle

England's stand-in captain for the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka, Ollie Pope, has proved his worth with the bat in the top order in the last few years. However, his form against Sri Lanka has not met the expectations, drawing criticism from some experts. The 26-year-old has only scored 13 runs in 3 innings so far.

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has decoded what caused Pope's drop in form. Hussain believes that getting a confident start has been an issue for the stand-in skipper. He added that the number three batter looked "frenetic" at the beginning of the innings. 

“Pope’s issue is that he is a poor starter. I don’t recall Joe Root looking frenetic at the beginning of an innings, even when he was captain, and he was often coming in at 20 for two. The most important thing, he told me, was getting runs, because everything flows from that. Every decision you make seems easier when you’re contributing with the bat. Remember, that is his number one job. It’s why he’s in the side and No. 3 is a pivotal position,” Nasser Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

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There’s still a bit of bluff from Pope: Nasser Hussain 

The former England skipper drew comparisons between Pope and former greats of the game, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. According to Hussain, Pope is the opposite of Pietersen, who had a swagger and wanted to put bowlers under pressure. He added that Pope resembles Ian Bell in his early days playing for England, "A fidgety figure at the crease."

“At the moment, there’s still a bit of bluff from Pope when it comes to batting, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. Someone like Kevin Pietersen had natural strut and swagger and wanted to put bowlers under pressure, but Pope is not really like that,” Hussain wrote.

“He’s more like the emerging Ian Bell before he and Pietersen formed that middle-order bond – a nervy, fidgety figure at the crease. Someone lacking the belief someone with his ability should possess. Pope is still in that stage of trying to convince everyone with the projection of his personality. Look at his first-class record, it’s utterly brilliant, but his fidgety starts are an issue,” he added.