Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has warned that India could be “smoked 4-0” in the Test series if skipper Virat Kohli does not set the tone in the white-ball games before his departure.
The 32-year-old Kohli has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. He will lead the team in the white-ball series, comprising three ODIs and as many T20s, and the opening Test at Adelaide before heading back home.
“These one-dayers and these Twenty20s is where Virat Kohli can really stand up and lead from the front,” Clarke said on ‘Sky Sports Radio’ on Tuesday.
“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 added.
Clarke feels that despite featuring in only one Test, the talismanic Indian skipper could still play a huge role in the outcome of the red-ball series by dominating in the limited-overs games.
“I think the tone he sets with this team will play a big role when he leaves, after the first Test match.”
The much talked about contest between the two best sides in the world would begin on November 27 with the ODI series-opener in Sydney.
