Indian Cricket Team will miss the service of Virat Kohli in the last three Test as he and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting the birth of their first child. Many have rung the warning bells for the visitors without their skipper and former Australia skipper Michael Clarke is the latest entrant.
Incidentally, Kohli will be a part of the limited-overs leg and the first Test before returning to India. He was available for the fourth Test but won’t be available for the quarantine rules in place. Many former cricketers and pundits have expressed that India will be under immense pressure without Virat Kohli.
Australia can smoke India 4-0 in Tests – Michael Clarke
However, Michael Clarke believes it will depend on how Team India performs in the limited-overs. He feels if India don’t get positive results in the limited-overs formats, they could face a 4-0 mauling at the hands of the Aussies.
“These one-dayers and these Twenty20s is where Virat Kohli can really stand up and lead from the front. I think the tone he sets with this team will play a big role when he leaves, after the first Test match,” Clarke said on ‘Sky Sports Radio’.
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“If India don‘t have success in the one-dayers and the T20s, they are in deep trouble in the Test matches and they’ll get smoked 4-0, in my opinion,” he opined.
Moreover, Michael Clarke also asserted that Jasprit Bumrah will be key for India against Australia. He feels Bumrah’s aggression would be key to bringing India success Down Under, with his bouncers being a being weapon, especially against Steve Smith.
“He‘s quick, he’s got a really different action, so I think he needs to set the tone and be really aggressive to the Australian batters. Even to someone like Steve Smith, he’s got to use that short ball consistently and regularly, as Jofra Archer did to Steve Smith in the Ashes,” Clarke signed off.