Virat Kohli is a wonderful player, says Michael Clarke

The men in blue began their ICC Champions Trophy 2017 by thrashing their arch-rivals Pakistan. Pakistan were 124 runs short of the target as India came on level terms with Pakistan in terms of head to head record in Champions Trophy. For Indian skipper Virat Kohli, it was his first match as a captain in a major ICC event. Not just he impressed everyone with the bat in hand, but his captaincy received applause from many former cricketers.

Former Australian skipper, Michael Clarke is one of them, who feels that Kohli is a wonderful captain. According to Clarke, Kohli’s passion and desperation are well reflected in the captaincy. After getting a slow start, the 28-year old Indian skipper scored 81 runs in just 68 deliveries. His innings comprised of 6 boundaries and 3 sixes. Clarke says Kohli is someone who grows every day.

“I have never played under Virat, so again captaincy-wise I am looking from afar. He has done a pretty good job. I think he is growing every day, he is working out his style and it does take time. Sometimes, you need to go through experiences to work out your strengths and weaknesses and he will do that. He is wonderful player there is no doubt about it,” said the New South Wales-born former cricketer.

“Captaining a cricket team, it brings out your personality, whether you like it or not. You can’t hide, you are on camera 24/7. So you watch the way Virat bats, I can see that in his captaincy. He can’t be the best player and the best captain in the world on his own though. He needs support from the team,” he further added.

Clarke feels Yuvraj or MS should not be dropped because of age

Few days ago, former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin said that players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh are not the same finishers. But Yuvraj proved him wrong as his quickfire half-century helped India to post a huge total. Clarke feels there is no reason to drop the experienced players. “If you are performing well enough, the question is does he still want to play, can he keep performing consistently. Then there is no reason for the selectors to not pick him,” said the 36-year old.

He further mentioned that places of players like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh should be nailed in the team. “To a certain extent, age is just a number though, It goes both ways, if you are in your late thirties or your teens. I don’t think you are too old if you can perform and everything that comes with that. Can you train? can you turn up on time and discipline yourself. MS Dhoni’s performances, they warrant selection in the Indian team,” he commented.