Former England allrounder Ian Botham revealed how he would’ve loved to play against Indan team captain Virat Kohli. Botham also feels that Virat Kohli is the right candidate to lead Indian cricket forward.
Botham said, “Virat takes the game to the opposition, he takes a stand for his players. I would have loved to play against him. He is the right guy to take Indian cricket forward.”
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Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Imran Khan, and Richard Hadlee formed the legendary allrounder quartet of the 1980s. All of them played their best cricket in the same period since they were in their prime years. Botham feels it was a privilege to have played in that era.
“It was a privilege to play in that era. We spoilt the fans for around 10-15 years. I don’t think world cricket has seen so many allrounders rubbing shoulders at the same time. In every tour, I used to see what Richard has done, what Kaps (Kapil) has done, what Immi (Imran) has done. There was a great rivalry,” the 64-year-old said.
The former England captain is considered amongst the greatest all-rounders of the game. He speaks on fast bowling allrounders who have double the workload. Ian Botham also mentions no one in the current generation has the capability to replicate playing like Kapil Dev.
He said, “All-rounders can’t be manufactured, they don’t grow on trees. The workload is double and it obviously takes a toll on your body. Just imagine Kapil the amount of bowling he did on those Indian pitches, which had very little to offer. That too in the scorching heat of Chennai and Delhi. I can’t see anyone in the present generation who is able to do that.”
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Botham named current England allrounder Ben Stokes as the player closest to him. He also terms the 2019 World Cup winner as the best cricketer in the world.
“Ben (Stokes) is better than a mile to Freddy (Andrew Flintoff). Ben Stokes is the closest version of me, he plays like me with his heart on his sleeve. Flintoff was good but Stokes is just exceptional. He is the best cricketer in the world now,” he said.
