"Sourav is my favourite. His leadership against Australia in Australia was astonishing. I have great respect for him," Lara said at a Dell event on leadership here last night.
He also praised Kapil Dev and "good friend" Sachin Tendulkar for their leadership qualities.
"In 1983 West Indies were dominating and I thought it would be cake walk for them in the final. So I went out to play only to come and know that India won, which was a surprise and Kapil Dev as a leader had a lot of role to play," he said.
On Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy, Lara said, "I spoke to Dwayne Bravo about Dhoni, how he was as a leader while they played together for CSK. He told me one of his key strengths is that he is a great listener. Bravo told me how he sets goals but always looks for ideas and commitment from his players."
Lara took a stroll down memory lane as he recalled his his initial days and how he used a coconut branch as his first bat.