Kolkata: Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke feels that Steve Smith’s captaincy has been challenged now in past few weeks and that he needs to find out a way to succeed as Australia are set for some intense cricketing action in the coming months.
Clarke was here in the city a day after the Indian and Australian teams landed to begin with their preparations for the second ODI. On the occasion of Sir Don Bradman’s bat being presented to the Fanattic Sports Museum in Kolkata, the World Cup winning skipper said, “Steve Smith’s batting has been outstanding for long time now but his captaincy is challenged now and he needs to find a way for success. There is this ODI series and there is the Ashes ahead so it’s a big few months for Australian cricket.”
In the first ODI against India, Australia were right on top at the beginning as they had the hosts reduced to 87/5 at one stage. But a grand fightback by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Hardik Pandya resurrected the Indian innings and took them to 281/7 in their 50 overs.
Clarke added to the charm of the event, when he presented a signed hand painted poster which captured his
329-run knock (which is highest in Test cricket) against India back in 2012 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
He also said that the match at the Eden Gardens would have an impact on the rest of the series.
“It’s high time that Australia make a comeback. I think this is the match (referring to the second ODI to be played on September 21) that will decide the course of the series,” said Clarke.
When asked as to what David Warner needs to do after being dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav in the last match, Clarke said, “I think David’s been playing really well, he’s got a couple of hundreds against Bangladesh and it’s hard to look at this one 21-over game (referring to the 1st ODI in Chennai) and I think it’s unfair to judge his batting through this one game. He’ll find a way to score runs, he always does. He is a wonderful player and he will have a lot of impact in this series.”
(Interestingly, Warner was Kuldeep’s first test wicket when the latter made his debut earlier this year against the series deciding test against the Aussies.)
Showering praise on the 22-year old Kuldeep, he said, “I like him. I think he’s a very attacking bowler, spins the ball both ways and has got a good wrong un. To have control when you bowl using the back of your hand is very tough and Kuldeep for a young player has that accuracy. He’s got all the skills, can bowl long spells and was brilliant in the Test series and I like the fact that he has been given an opportunity in these ODI’s.”
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s future has been one of the most hotly debated topics in recent times but the former Indian skipper, with solid performances in Sri Lanka as well as in the first ODI against Australia has well and truly silenced his critics
Commenting on whether Dhoni should continue till the 2019 World Cup, Clarke said, “I think he should play till the 2023 World Cup!”
Rain threat leads India, Australia to cancel net session
The preparations for both India and Australia ahead of the second ODI suffered a huge blow after both the teams decided to call off the net sessions due to the threat of heavy rain.
The iconic Eden Gardens, where the match is scheduled to be played on September 21 has been under the covers since the last two days and while the Australian team had an indoor training session, the Indians decided to skip the practice session. The match too is likely to be affected by rain on Thursday.