"This guy can make a double hundred tomorrow" - Former Australian captain says he would fight with selectors to keep Virat Kohli in his team

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has claimed that he would fight with the team management to keep Virat Kohli in his team. Clarke admitted that Kohli did not have enough runs in his last few Tests, but still, he would back him because he was a one of a kind player.

On Beyond23 Cricket podcast, Michael Clarke shared his thoughts on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25. All eyes were on Virat Kohli in this series. While Virat scored a century in the first Test, he could not score big in the next four matches.

When asked if Virat still has red-ball cricket left in him, Clarke replied:

"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." [15.27 onwards]

The 2015 World Cup-winning skipper further added that if he was Kohli's team captain, he would fight with the management and selectors to keep him in the squad.

"If I was captain of any team that Virat Kohli was in, even though I know he didn't make as many runs, he would have liked, I'm fighting for him to stay in my team," Clarke added.

"Sachin was a different player to Virat Kohli" - Michael Clarke

During the India vs Australia series, Virat often lost his wicket while trying to play deliveries bowled outside the off stump. Fans and experts recalled how Sachin Tendulkar avoided cover drives to score a double hundred in Sydney and felt Virat should do the same. However, he could not do so.

Explaining why Virat could not bat like Sachin, Michael Clarke said on Beyond23 Cricket podcast:

"Sachin was a different player to Virat Kohli. A lot of people throught this Australian summer were saying Sachin did it in a Test match. He got out cover driving a couple of times and then he let it go and made 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."

Kohli's next assignment will likely be the home ODI series against England. It will be interesting to see how the star Indian batter performs in that series.