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I like the look of Kohli: Mike Brearley

Brearley, who won 18 of his 31 Tests as England skipper between 1977 and 1981

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Mike Brearley signs a copy of his book in Mumbai
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Virat Kohli style of captaincy has got thumbs up from Englishman Mike Brearley, regarded as one of the finest captains the game has seen. The 75-year-old said here on Thursday: "I admire him enormously. He has given the team pride and aggression. He is always attentive, very keen eyed. He is a wonderful batsman and is shrewd."

Brearley quite likes Kohli and his aggression as also his in-the-face celebrations at the fall of a wicket. "I quite like the brashness of Virat Kohli's celebrations, he enjoys taking a wicket. He's very passionate. You can't have passion without disappointment. I like the look of Kohli," Brearley, who is a practising psychoanalyst, said at the launch of his latest book 'On Form'.

However, Brearley did not understand Kohli's theory of changing the playing 11 for every Test, so much so that no two playing XIs in his 35 Tests at the helm have been the same.

"I find it extraordinary, and probably because it is unsettling to the team when you have too many changes. May be what has come in with T20 cricket is greater openness to variability. Having said that, just because you win a game, you need not play the same 11 in the next Test. If you could improve, you change," said Brearley, who was known more for his captaincy skills than his abilities with the bat in Tests.

Asked how the captaincy skills have changed over the years, the former player from Middlesex said: "It has become harder for people because they don't get an apprenticeship. They start becoming centrally contracted for their countries very early, so they don't have a time of learning their job at a slightly lower level. It's very different because of the number of advises. It's more variegated in the forms of the game. Basically, the job is still the game."

An oft-repeated usage is "the captain is as good as the team". Brearley did not agree. "That's not quite right. The captain makes a poor team a better team and he makes a good team into a very good team. A poor captain makes a good team an average team and an average team a poor team," he reasoned out.

While he agreed to India chief coach Ravi Shastri's theory of captain being the most powerful person in the team, Brearley cautioned that "There's balance and he must not be the only one."

He also lauded India's performance in the third Test in Johannesburg "in the manner in which they stuck at it in the field on the last day". He also said that the current Indian team "has been batting well on difficult pitches and against good quality bowling".

Brearley, who won 18 of his 31 Tests as England skipper between 1977 and 1981, also admired England all-rounder Ben Stokes not just for his skills but his attitude towards the game. "I have a lot of time for Stokes. I would have loved to have him in my team. He is a better batsman than Botham but not a better bowler."

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