Virat Kohli is the best batsman across all formats at the moment: Michael Clarke

Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke has always been direct and honest with his words. When the Australian media was mocking Indian skipper Virat Kohli for taking things too seriously in the DRS gate, it was Clarke who had pointed out that even Steve Smith was at fault. In the most recent times, the world cricket has seen the emergence of Virat Kohli as a phenomenal batsman and a great leader too.

Clarke is definitely aware of this fact and time and again has come out showering praise on the Indian captain. When analyzed at deeper levels, both Michael Clarke and Virat Kohli share the same level of intensity on the field as a leader. During his playing days, Clarke was renowned for his attacking gameplay and tactics. Kohli seems to be no different.

In a recent conversation with The Telegraph, Clarke spoke at length about Kohli and the ways he can relate to Kohli on multitudinous roles. The discussion started off with Clarke sharing his thoughts on two of the most dynamic captains in world cricket at the moment – Steve Smith and Virat Kohli. He called both of them to be good leaders but remarked that they needed more time to settle in their roles.

“I’ll talk about captaincy… Both need time, but they already are fantastic. Indeed, they’re two very good leaders. The more they play, the more they’ll learn about their own game and about teammates,” quoted Michael Clarke.

Recently, both Kohli and Clarke were seen having dinner in Bengaluru. Talking about the same, he said that both of them had a conversation over phone following which they decided to catch up for some time. Describing their meeting, he said that most of the talks were personal but said that the discussions did revolve around cricket and fitness.

“Virat’s a lovely guy. A fantastic person. He has clear goals and is a very mature man.  It was a private dinner, so that bit should remain personal… Look, both of us are big on fitness, so that was one area we spoke about. Fitness, diet… We talked about life, about different things… I’m around to give advice to anybody who wants it, I see that as part of my responsibility. I was myself lucky to have met some wonderful people during my playing days and I’ll never forget the day I met Sachin Tendulkar. His advice and guidance played a part in my career… If I can help any player or leader, then I’ll do so,” said Clarke.

He further added that Kohli in many ways is like him. He pointed out how both of them hate losing and that is something which separates them as leaders. They can go to severe extents of being aggressive with their approach. He also called Kohli the best batsman across all the formats at the moment, rating him higher than AB de Villiers with a very valid justification.

“I hated not winning, so does Virat… Like me, he can risk losing a match. He’ll be aggressive to that extent, just as I was. Of course, Virat has his own style, the style of an aggressive leader,” quoted the former Australian skipper.

“In my opinion, at this point in time, Virat’s the best in the world across the three formats. In any case AB hasn’t been playing Test cricket for a while now,” he conceded further.