"Only thing this series has been missing is the battle between Kohli and Jimmy Anderson"- Nasser Hussain hopes Virat Kohli returns for remaining Tests

Former England captain Nasser Hussain was hopeful of Indian superstar Virat Kohli's return for the remainder of the India-England Test series to reignite his battle with James Anderson.

Kohli opted out of the first two Tests, citing personal reasons, and the status of his return for the remaining games remains unknown. His battle with veteran England pacer Anderson has been among the highlights of the past decade in Test cricket.

While the Englishman had the better of the former Indian captain in their initial meetings, the tide has turned in favor of Kohli in their latest tussles. Overall, Kohli averages 43.60 against Anderson in Tests, with the latter dismissing him seven times.

In a Q&A session for the Daily Mail, Hussain felt Kohli's return would make India more ruthless.

"I hope he does come back because the only thing this series has been missing is the battle between Kohli and Jimmy Anderson. I’m looking forward to that," Hussain said.

"The one thing about India is that in three of their four innings they have been a bit sloppy. I know Rahul Dravid and he would have been ticking inside at some of the dismissals so far. India will think, ‘We keep on giving England a sniff here, let’s be more ruthless’. And the one thing Kohli is, is absolutely ruthless," he added.

Despite Kohli averaging only 42.36 against England in Tests, his overall home average in the red-ball format is a sensational 60.05.

Meanwhile, Anderson missed England's 28-run win in the series opener in Hyderabad but returned to the playing XI for the second Test at Visakhapatnam. The 41-year-old had an excellent outing with match figures of 5/76 but could not prevent England from suffering a 106-run defeat.

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"Just needs to convert one of his starts" - Nasser Hussain on Jonny Bairstow's poor form

India v England - 2nd Test Match: Day Four

Nasser Hussain felt struggling batter Jonny Bairstow should remain in the side even if Harry Brook returns but stated the need for the wicketkeeper, who is playing as a pure batter, to convert his starts to sizable scores.

Bairstow has scored only 98 runs in four innings thus far in the series at a paltry average of 24.50.

"Bairstow’s an excellent player and just needs to convert one of his starts. It wasn’t just him. All of the England batters got in and got out again in Vizag. Jonny will know if Brook does go to India he will need to be clinical and get a big score. But this England side have shown faith in players and I expect them to show faith in Bairstow," said Hussain.

Brook opted out of the India series, citing personal reasons, with Dan Lawrence being named his replacement. The former has been England's best Test batter over the past two years, averaging around 62 in his 12-Test career.

India and England will resume battle after a 10-day break in the third Test in Rajkot, starting on February 15.