London, May 28 (IANS): Legendary England all-rounder Ian Botham has said he would have loved to play against Indian captain Virat Kohli, saying he is the right guy to lead the Indian cricket team.

Speaking in an online chat session with Playwrite Foundation, Botham was quoted as saying by the Times of India: "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."

Asked about all-rounders in modern day cricket, 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 being able to do that," Botham said.

Botham also rated Ben Stokes higher than Andrew Flintoff, saying the 2019 World Cup and Ashes hero is like him.

"Ben (Stokes) is better than a mile to Freddy. 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."