Michael Clarke played in three World Cups, winning the tournament in 2007 and 2015. He was captain in 2015, and signed off from the format with a match-winning 74 in the final. Now a respected commentator and analyst, he told Boria Majumdar in this special World Cup episode of Backstage with Boria how he worried about Australian finding the right balance, the importance of Rohit Sharma at the top of the order, and the permanence of class in the context of Virat Kohli.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Boria: India are hosts again. In 2015, you won it, 2019 Eoin Morgan, and 2011 was India. Are you giving India a chance?
Clarke: Hello buddy, thank you for having me, nice to be here. Of course, India in their own backyard, no tougher team to beat. Playing at home, I think you’ve got a lot of big players that like the big tournaments or the big stage, that want to stand up and help the country have success. I think they are the favourites, I think they’ve earned that right. But I think they’ve got some tough competition that’s for sure.
Boria: So, can we set it up from the start? Australia look a very very good team. India vs Australia starts the World Cup for India. How does Michael Clarke set that match up?
Clarke: Well, I think the balance of both teams is really important. I think assessing conditions, working out what is their best 11. A lot of the players that are probably not in India’s starting 11 have done so well. Australia’s got the same problems, not based on success though – probably based on injuries and lack of success, apart from us winning the other day [third ODI] against India.
We’d lost the five previous ODI games before that. We didn’t play well in South Africa. We didn’t play well in the first two ODIs in India. So, we’ve got to work out firstly, what is the brand of cricket we’re trying to play. What is the right 11 for that brand of cricket? And does everyone know their role? I’m surprised the Australian players don’t know that by now. We’re not far away from this first game against India. We’re going to have to start this tournament well and play our best cricket if we want to beat an in-form India.
Boria: One player who’s made a really important contribution since coming back is Jasprit Bumrah. You have followed Jasprit for a long time. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav. If you were captain, how important are these two?
Clarke: Both very important. Bumrah is a genius and it’s just going to take him some time. So, I think as long as the expectation isn’t for him to walk out in this first game against Australia and be at his absolute best, come the semifinal and final, we know what Bumrah can do. He’s done it for such a long time in all formats of the game, and you would be a fool to think that he’s not going to take a lot of wickets in this World Cup. Even in amazing batting conditions in India, I think that’s what sets him apart. He knows how to take wickets. He’s got so much skill. He’s got a different pace. He’s got a new ball. He’s got the yorker. He’s got a slow ball. So, he’s a massive player.
Kuldeep could be a big player for India. Back of the hand, got an amazing wrong ’un. I still don’t think the batters pick him completely. I think he’s a massive strike weapon for India. Spin is still an important part of your World Cup campaign if you’re playing in Indian conditions. Even if they’re not taking wickets, they can change the pace of the game. They can slow scoring. So, how you bowl spin and how you face spin will dictate the outcome of this World Cup.
Boria: Fascinating. Before I come to Australia and the number of all-rounders, let me ask you two specific questions about two players you know very, very well. The first one has to be Virat Kohli. So much talk going into the World Cup. Maybe his last 50-over World Cup. Batting once again like a champion. Form is back. Class is there. Your thoughts on Virat Kohli going into this World Cup?
Clarke: Yeah, I’d like him to get a duck in the first game. Then, he can make 100 every game after that until he plays Australia in the final and gets another duck. He’s a genius. He’s class, he’s back to his best. He was always going to be back to his best. I think anybody that wrote him off is very silly. Class is permanent, and he’s another great player that has shown that. And this is probably his best format. He’s a genius in Test cricket, Twenty20, but he’s a once-in-a-lifetime player in one-day cricket. He knows the conditions. He reads the game really well. He knows when he can afford to take his time. He knows when he’s got to up the ante. He knows how to chase a total better than any player in this format ever did before him. So, again, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a stellar World Cup.
Boria: And Rohit Sharma? You’ve been a World Cup-winning captain. India have not won an ICC trophy for 10 years. The pressure will be on in home conditions.
Clarke: It will be, but I think his captaincy is very good. I’ve said that for a long time.
I think he’s a very good tactician. I think he reads the game really well. And everybody wants to open the batting in India in one-day cricket.
The thing about Rohit Sharma is if there’s any swing, he’s good enough to see that off. There’s not too many players in the game that have a better power play, that hit more boundaries than Rohit Sharma.
So as good as Virat Kohli is, Rohit Sharma could be the most dangerous player in the World Cup. I just think he’s that good in those conditions. With Rohit, he could make a double-hundred. Like we saw with Mitchell Marsh the other night, battered beautifully and made 90. Rohit Sharma can make 150, 180, 200. He is that good.
Boria: Michael, one guy who gets a lot of flak in the media, on social media, but has a huge role for India. And I know you’re a supporter and that’s why I’m asking about KL Rahul. He’s keeping. He’s back with the bang. He’s batting brilliantly. Important role in the Indian middle order. Thoughts on KL Rahul?
Clarke: His keeping has improved out of sight. I watched him bat the other night. He looks like he’s back to his best. I think the leadership helps him as well, you know, feeling that extra responsibility. So, he walks into this World Cup campaign full of confidence, which is very important for India. I think the other thing about someone like KL Rahul – he can bat anywhere. If somebody gets injured, he could open the batting. When he’s batting like this, at his best, he can strike at 140, 150 down the order. So, I think the fact he’s in form really helps India, gives them extra power, extra depth.
Boria: Australia have so many all-rounders. How important would that be?
Clarke: Well, it depends on what they go with. That’s the problem we’ve got at the moment. I don’t think Australia know what their best 11 is. Do they play three fast bowlers, or do they play two?
If they play two, I think Mitchell Starc is the No.1-ranked one-day bowler in the
World. Josh Hazlewood might be No. 3. What are they going to do? Not pick Pat Cummins, their captain? They can’t do that. Do they pick two spinners? Do they pick one spinner? Do they pick all these all-rounders? There’s so many questions at the moment. It looks like they’re certainly going to give Mitchell Marsh a crack at the top of the order, and he’s in terrific form with Davey Warner, who looks like he’s back to batting his best as well. Do they use Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne? I think they’ll definitely play Steve Smith at No. 3. He starts well against spin. He knows the conditions really well and he’s a senior player for us, but can they fit both him and Labuschagne in?
Then, Maxwell hasn’t played much international cricket for 12 months. Although he got some wickets the other night, he made no runs. How do you fit Stoinis, Green and Maxwell? I think Australia still have some questions to answer around what’s their best 11. We’ve been winning the toss and bowling first for so long. But the other night, we won the toss and batted first for the first time in a long time and had success. Do we even know what we want to do if we win the toss? Lots of questions for Patty Cummins and the Australian team. I think we’ve got a very strong squad though. I really do. I just think we’ve got to pick the right 11, back the players, know how we’re going to play and start well. I think this first game against India is very, very important for Australia.
Boria: Moving on… India-Pakistan, on Indian soil. You’re an objective viewer here. I mean, as a former captain, how do you set up India-Pakistan for me?
Clarke: I love it. Honestly, I’ve been very lucky to commentate on a number of the games India’s played against Pakistan, and it’s the most amazing atmosphere. The night before the game, you can see people turning up at the hotel. Then you turn up in the morning to the ground and, my God, the fans on both sides are so supportive. So, it’s a massive game for a number of reasons, but most importantly, because you’ve got two brilliant teams. You cannot underestimate Pakistan in this World Cup. They’ve got some class players. They’ve always got good bowlers. They always use their spin well. This World Cup, I think they’ve got some batting depth as well. They’ve got some power players. So again, it’s going to be one of the best games in the tournament. Can you imagine if they play more than once? Wherever they meet, it just creates so much tension. Everyone watches it all around the world. So, I think for cricket’s sake, you want to see a good game.