2017 ICC Champions Trophy: Virat Kohli’s Bold Captaincy Is Impressive – Michael Clarke
Nov 2, 2023 at 3:46 PM
Being bold and brash in his younger days as Virat Kohli burst into the international scene, has now become more focused towards cricket with his calm and composed approach in the gentleman’s game which has further drawn praises from former Australian skipper Michael Clarke, as he further believes the latter is giving his best as a skipper.
“Sometimes, you need to go through experiences to work out your strengths and weaknesses and he will do that. He [Virat Kohli] is wonderful player there is no doubt about it,” Clarke told India Today.
The New South Wales-born Clarke has effusively praised Kohli’s leadership while reiterated he is a far better skipper to play under while revealing he has worked hard to yield the better results since playing under the tutelage of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“You see his passion and his emotion, when he bats. You can see that in his captaincy,” Clarke revealed.
Running high on emotion, the 28-year-old batting mainstay has been a passionate cricketer, who has given his best to put an impact in every game he has played.
“I think he is growing every day, he is working out his style and it does take time,” Clarke maintained.
After having the dismal Indian Premier League (IPL), the former skipper Clarke feels the emotions shown by Kohli, is also visible during his captaincy in the all-important ICC event which according to Test skipper is good to have around.
“I have never played under Virat, so again captaincy-wise I am looking from afar. He has done a pretty good job,” Clarke added.
However, Kohli has a perfect start to the eight-team tournament with the bat and in particular as a skipper after routing Pakistan by 124 runs in the Duckworth-Lewis Method on Sunday in Birmingham.
In their tournament opener, Kohli’s side posted 319 for three after they were asked to bat first in the rain-truncated game which further saw Pakistan losing the plot to post 164 for nine in 33.4 overs.
“Captaining a cricket team, it brings out your personality, whether you like it or not. You can’t hide. So you watch the way Virat bats, I can see that in his captaincy,” Clarke further added.
Making things easier for the team with the bat, Kohli was recently appointed as a skipper after wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down from the limited overs captaincy.
Showing much promise in the very first game as a skipper in the ICC’s global tournament, Kohli has played a pivotal role for India while playing some remarkable innings.
Clarke, who averaged 44-plus in One-day International, believes aggression is important for the game and emotions play a crucial role in one’s way of perceiving the things while wrestling on-the-field.
The right-handed batsman Clarke further went to say Kohli has been best in the gentleman’s game particularly as a batsman and skipper — to shoulder the responsibility at the earliest.
“He [Virat] can’t be the best player and the best captain in the world on his own though. He needs support from the team,” Clarke.
While speaking about experienced campaigners MS Dhoni and left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh, who are lined-up in the 15-member squad, has been doing well which had further revolved around skill and the maturity shown by the former skipper.
The swashbuckling Yuvraj has blasted a sublime fifty against Pakistan and is seen as one of the important characters in the eight edition of Champions Trophy as Clarke further feels until and unless the players are fit enough to perform they would give selectors a tough time in between on the basis of selection.
Clarke, who made his international debut in 2003, has featured in 245 ODIs as he had amassed 7981 runs. He had smashed eight hundreds and 58 fifties.