Former Australia captain Michael Clarke heaped the praise on Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Kolkata on Tuesday, even light-heartedly stating that the former India skipper could play till 2023, leave alone the 2019 World Cup.
“Don’t ask me whether he will play in the 2019 World Cup. He will play in 2023,” Clarke said in an interview with the Times of India. He added that he would bat the 35-year-old at No 5.
While suggesting that India’s biggest test would arrive next year when they travelled to South Africa, England and Australia, Clarke also had praise for India’s new sensation, the left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
“He is an attacking bowler. His control as a wrist spinner from the back of his hand is amazing and is his strength,” gushed the former Aussie captain. He drew from his own experiences of playing spin, including the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne and suggested that Australia were failing to play Yadav as they were unable to pick his variations from his hand.
With Australia losing the first One-Day International against India in Chennai by 26 runs, Clarke also felt captain Steve Smith was under some pressure. “Smith’s batting has been outstanding for a long time but his captaincy is challenged now. He needs to define the way for his team to have success,” Clarke said, as reported by PTI.
While backing David Warner to come good into the series, thanks to his recent run of good form in Bangladesh, Clare also took the Aussie opener’s example to suggest that shorter formats of the game have contributed to cricket, despite the criticism they receive.
“What is happening is a lot of senior players are opting out of the longer format at the back end of their careers,” said the 36-year-old. “AB de Villiers has played over 100 Tests. JP Duminy too has been around for a while. I haven’t heard of a junior player who doesn’t want to play Test cricket.
He added, “I think the shorter formats, including the T20 franchise leagues, have contributed enormously to the growth of the game. Without T20 cricket, we might not have seen a David Warner or a Hardik Pandya.”
And finally, with typical Aussie optimism, Clarke finished by stating that he felt his team could still win the series and they could start that in Kolkata, thanks to a surface, which in his opinion, would suit the visitors’ bowling attack.
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