Former England captain Mike Brearley was left disappointed with Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s captaincy in the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval. India suffered a 4-1 loss in the Test series, with the final game in London lost by 114 runs.
“I was slightly disappointed with his captaincy at The Oval, when England started to get on top,” Brearley said in an interview with Daily Mail. “He let things drift a bit, whereas when the match was evenly fought, or they were in with a chance, or had the new ball against Root, he was keen-eyed, hawk-eyed, articulate, non-stop.
“I admire him probably as much as any cricketer I’ve seen. But there is a risk: everyone’s strengths can become faults and in his case his articulacy, his charisma, his presence, his skill, his fierce thoughtfulness could become tyrannical, a bit autocratic.
“He needs people around him who will tackle him, take him on, challenge him, otherwise he’ll get opinionated and dogmatic, and then powerful — sometimes for good, sometimes not. I can imagine he might be difficult to play for. He’d be very impatient of carelessness or laziness or lack of intensity. And some people aren’t of that mentality.”
