'I really enjoy watching Virat Kohli'

Legendary all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath said he admires Virat Kohli for the passion he brings on to the cricket field which he believes will encourage a lot of youngsters to take up cricket.

Amarnath, one of the top all-rounders of his time and a key member of India's 1983 World Cup winning team, asked youngsters to learn from Kohli.

"The person I really enjoy watching and admire is Virat Kohli," Amarnath said at the launch of his book Fearless: A Memoir.

"The way he plays, the kind of passion he has been showing over a period of time, and the way he has been playing and performing, it is brilliant. I think youngsters have a lot to learn from him."

The book launch was graced by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Amarnath, now 74, was also pleased by the top performance of young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit a century in the first Test against Australia in Perth to help India notch a famous win.

"I am very pleased for any youngster to come and do well because we all start as young, because when you get an opportunity, you have to grab it with both hands, which they have done it, and Jaiswal especially.

"If you

see his record, it's unbelievable, he has been very consistent, I hope this form continues and he is a very positive player which I like. Because one failure, it doesn't make you bad, but if you have the talent, so I am sure things will only get better with time."

Asked if captain Rohit Sharma should bat as opener in the Adelaide Test, he said, "I am sure they will work it, they are in the middle of things. I don't think they require any opinions from anybody, they know how to go about it.

"They are all experienced players and they understand the situation and the combinations and all that, so I am sure they will work it out," said the Indian batting great, who scored 4378 runs from 69 Tests and 1924 runs from 85 ODIs between 1969 and 1989.

He also refused to compare the 1983 World Cup-winning side with the current Indian team.

"The format is different altogether, in 1983 we were playing 60 overs of a shorter version and this is a Test series we are playing. But there is a lot of talent in this team. Experience also counts.

"So I think it is a mixture of youth and experience like our 1983 team. I am very pleased the way they are playing, but I think one game is over, I am sure they will forget about it and they will look forward to the season."

• India's Tour Of Australia, 2024