‘Sachin is different player to Kohli’: Clarke silences India star's critics with ‘can make a double 100 tomorrow' claim

Michael Clarke backed Virat Kohli, stating that not including him in the Test team would have a negative influence for India.

Virat Kohli’s quiet Border-Gavaskar Trophy saw him become the focus of many pundits trying to break down his technique and mentality, trying to understand why he scored only 190 runs in nine innings in a country he usually loves batting in.

India's Virat Kohli reacts on his dismissal on day two of the fifth Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. (AFP)

Kohli’s tough series caps off an extremely difficult period for him with the bat in Test cricket, averaging narrowly above 30 in the last five years. Moreover, Kohli got out in the exact same fashion on all 8 occasions, edging outside the off-stump and frustrating fans and himself alike.

With some wondering if Kohli should make way for the next generation of batters, former Australian captain Michael Clarke was having none of it. Speaking on his Beyond23 Cricket podcast, Clarke backed up Kohli and stated he still has plenty to offer Indian cricket.

"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," argued Clarke.

Clarke believes India should stick with Kohli

Clarke was the captain of the Australian team when Kohli broke out on the remarkable 2014-15 tour, and still believes in Kohli’s ability to make runs for the team, even if he is going through a lean patch at the moment.

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

Kohli’s poor series, which included one century but several innings where he failed to impact the match at all, is seen by many as likely his last on Australian shores at the age of 37. Kohli’s weakness was poking at deliveries outside the off stump, earning him calls to practice the kind of self-restraint shown by Sachin Tendulkar in his iconic Sydney 241*. However, Clarke argued that Kohli is not the kind of player Tendulkar was.

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