Internet Desk: England’s revered captain Mike Brearley feels that Joe Root is “not quite as good as Virat Kohli” in terms of conversion rate in comparison to Kohli.
“Root has a poorer conversion rate in comparison to Kohli. But I think Root is a fine batsman too and I like seeing him do well. He is different – a brilliant batsman and quite intelligent. He is not quite as good as Kohli but is still a thoughtful bloke,” Brearley told the Indian media at Edgbaston.
Brearley rated Kohli as the best batsman in world cricket and his success is largely due to his “ruthless streak”. The former England captain was all praise for the Indian skipper, who today perched on top of ICC rankings for Test batsmen.
According to Brearley, “I think Kohli is best in the world and anyone who averages 50-plus in all three formats must be a very, very fine player. He can play in ein every mode and so can Joe Root. But there is something ruthless about Kohli and he converts all those fifties into hundreds,” Brearley told today.
Kohli scored 149 and 51 but India lost a closely contested first Test against England by 31 runs.
While every defeat hurts, Brearley feels that this loss will be a “learning experience” for Kohli.
“This Test (loss) will be a learning experience for Kohli. It will make things a lot easier (in terms of expectations from him and the Indian team). There is intensity about this Indian team, about their bowling attack, and I think some of that comes from Kohli too. On occasion, it can make people nervous I dare say, but on the whole, it animates them,” he added.
Every player, who is a leader has his own style and Kohli is no different, feels Brearley.
“I like what I see in Kohli and quite like it. Everyone has their own style and he is very good in his own style. He is keen, and hawk-eyed. I think it is good for Test cricket,” said Brearley, the author of widely acclaimed book ‘The Art of Captaincy’.
Brearley found some similarities between Kohli and former Australian captain Ian Chappell.
“It was said similarly about Ian Chappell because he was very aggressive and not short of a word or two in the batsman’s ear. I think it is possible that some teammates mmight not enjoy it, and like in Chappell’s case, feel a bit on the outside,” he added.