Michael Clarke backs Virat Kohli and silences his critics

Clarke supported Kohli, stating that not including him in the Test team would negatively influence India.

One of the most talked-about topics in the cricket world is the senior players’ performances in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series that India lost. Virat Kohli had a quiet series, becoming the focus of many in the cricket fraternity. However, former Australian captain Michael Clarke has a different opinion.

Michael Clarke backs Virat Kohli.

Speaking on his Beyond23 Cricket podcast, Clarke backed up Kohli and said he still has plenty to offer Indian cricket. He said, “It’s Virat Kohli! This guy can make a double hundred tomorrow. He’s that good a player. This guy could play; he should play until he’s had enough. If he retires from Test cricket right now, there’s only one team losing out; it’s India.” He continued, “If I was captain of any team that Virat Kohli was in, even though I know he didn’t make as many runs as he would have liked, I’m fighting for him to stay in my team.”

Clarke argues Kohli is not the kind of player Tendulkar was.

Clarke said, “Sachin was a different player to Virat Kohli. A lot of people during this Australian summer were saying Sachin did it in a Test match. He got out cover driving a couple of times and then let it go to make a 200 at the SCG. Sachin is a different player to Virat. Virat’s greatest strength is bat on ball. He just plays it in a different way.”