Mike Brearley admires Smith and Kohli's leadership qualities
Ex-England skipper Mike Brearley, in a recent interview, touched on the topic of captaincy and complimented the likes of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith for their leadership qualities. Brearley refused to be drawn into a comparison between the two and insisted that the duo are the best in their own way.
Mike Brearley, is often regarded as one of the most astute and complete captains in the modern cricketing era. Brearley, who led England to victory in the 1981 Ashes, captained England to the final of the 1979 Cricket World Cup, scoring 53 in the semi-final against New Zealand and 64 in the final against the West Indies.
Steve Smith followed Brearley’s footsteps by leading the mighty Australians to a recent 4-0 drubbing of England during which he played a couple of stunning knocks to lead his side to victory. His 239 vs England in December is his highest score in a Test match as of now and he looks in the mood to slow down anytime soon.Â
Virat Kohli, who amassed 1460 runs at an average of 76.84 in 2017 has stepped up to lead the Indian national side after MS Dhoni gave up the post of captain. He has shone brightly and has always led from the front since donning the title of skipper and his recent 153 versus South Africa last Saturday in tough conditions was a testament to the same.
When quizzed about which of the two batsmen would he fancy, Brearley chose to play diplomatic and said, “The pressure (of captaincy) hasn’t hampered their form. They both are wonderful batsmen and I admire them both very much. I wouldn’t jump into the discussion on who’s better than the other,” reported Deccan Chronicle.
Brearley, who is a psychoanalyst, an author and also motivational speaker, said he is a firm believer in the old-school method of hierarchy when it comes to the captaincy of a team.
“Democratic or authoritative or task-oriented captain…You certainly have to be task-oriented. You have to respond to the situation. You don’t know where the excellent piece of idea would come from. You have to be open to people’s opinion and you have to encourage them. At the same time, you have to be firm and clear,” added Brearley.