"Other than the media, Australians love Virat Kohli" : Michael Clarke

[Hitman]

The Australian media and some of the current players may not waste any opportunity to criticize Virat Kohli, but Michael Clarke things highly of the Indian captain.

The former Aussie captain feels the Indian batting stalwart is often misunderstood for his on-field antics, especially in Australia, but he felt Kohli has enough number of fans Down Under.

"I disagree that Virat doesn't have too many fans in Australia. I think Virat has a lot of Australian in him," said Clarke, who was in the city to promote Tourism Australia. "To be honest, he plays the game really tough and is really competitive on the field, but he is a nice guy off the field. So when people get to know Virat, they realize that what they see on the field is just his competitive spirt. I can't think of any Australian cricketer who wasn't like that every time we walked out on the field. I certainly think there is respect for Virat in Australia.

"You probably are not going to read the positive stuff (about Virat) in the Australian media though. They all want to write a negative story. But I have a great relation with him and I think he is respectful," added 'Pup'.

Clarke, who a few days ago had apparently asked Australian skipper Steve Smith to contribute more on the cricketers' pay dispute agitation, sounded relaxed on the both parties - Cricket Australia and the Australian cricketers' union - reaching an agreement.

"It is fantastic that the deal has been done and everybody can focus on cricket. Australia will be travelling to Bangladesh very soon and then we come to India and then the Ashes, so it is wonderful that the game can now move forward. The players can focus on what they do the best - playing - and the administrators can do their job too. I think everybody is sick and tired of talking about it and very happy that it's over," he said.

When asked who was right in the dispute, Clarke said, "I don't need to take sides. There have been compromises from both the parties, but now I am glad the focus is back on cricket."

The BCCI recently had asked their commentary panel to sign an undertaking of not having any conflict of interest. Clarke said: "I have no idea if that is the case (that there can be conflict while commentating). To me, commentary is all about trying to take the viewers as close to the players as possible. When the batsman is batting, the viewer should feel like he is sitting beside the batsman and know what he is thinking or what the captain is thinking that time. That's what I have always seen in the commentary and that's what I try to do. Your job is to have your opinion and make a call on what you see, so for me, there will be no conflict."

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...kohli-michael-clarke/articleshow/60092101.cms

 

[Leo23]

you either love the king or you are jealous of him

 

[Proactive_]

you either love the king or you are jealous of him

I'm sure a lot of batsmen are jealous of his average of 22 in 8 ODI Tournament Finals.. I mean seriously.. such success definitely warrants the brainwashing campaign that the BCCI and the media carries out for King Kohli.. doesn't it?

 

[Hasan123]

Some people like him, some don't .

Pup is right with how he has described Kohli, on the field he is very competitive . If you play well against India , Kohli will respect that. Also off the field he is a nice guy.

 

[Slog]

He's a very good player

But last 12 months have shown he is far from a complete batsman

 

[Adil_94]

Kohli is probli like a love to hate figure for the Aussies like Broad is for them.

They probably respect him after he went to their backyard and performed so well

 

[thehub]

Best Batsman in the world if you consider all the formats. I am not surprised that Australians like him. they liked Sachin as well who was a champion batsman.

 

[Buffet]

Kohli is probli like a love to hate figure for the Aussies like Broad is for them.

They probably respect him after he went to their backyard and performed so well

That's the crux of it. To put it in context,

Only 4 batsmen in entire history have toured Aus and scored more tons. One is SRT and 3 are oldies from 1920's/1930's.

Kohli in Aus - 8 Tests - 5 tons and 2 half ton. Now we can talk about conditions, bowlers and all that, but 5 ton and 2 half ton in just 8 tests is going to be noticed.

 

[Buffet]

Best Batsman in the world if you consider all the formats. I am not surprised that Australians like him. they liked Sachin as well who was a champion batsman.

Not much to do with how many runs Kohli or even SRT scored outside of Aus. Scoring runs in Aus gets lots of attention from Aus fans. It's same for other venues as well. Steyn has this stature everywhere , mainly because he has bowled series changing spells in pretty much all venues.

 

[Leo23]

I'm sure a lot of batsmen are jealous of his average of 22 in 8 ODI Tournament Finals.. I mean seriously.. such success definitely warrants the brainwashing campaign that the BCCI and the media carries out for King Kohli.. doesn't it?

no one is perfect but the fact is that kohli is the biggest star of cricket today by a country mile and from this time period no cricketer will be remembered more in the future

 

[Leo23]

Not much to do with how many runs Kohli or even SRT scored outside of Aus. Scoring runs in Aus gets lots of attention from Aus fans. It's same for other venues as well. Steyn has this stature everywhere , mainly because he has bowled series changing spells in pretty much all venues.

azhar ali scored a double hundred at the mcg but i don't think many aus fans and ex players took notice

 

[waleed88]

azhar ali scored a double hundred at the mcg but i don't think many aus fans and ex players took notice

Kohli is already one of the greatest of all times. Azhar still has a long way to go to get talked about like that, but definitely in Test Matches he is right up there with the best in the world at the moment

 

[Romali_rotti]

Kohli and Clarke are close friends, so I am not surprised he is always backing Kohli.. Especially during last Australian tour of India when Aussie Media and players were tearing into Kohli, Clarke stood by Kohli always giving him support...

 

[JaDed]

He is not meant to be loved,he is supposed to win matches against them, anything else least matters.

Hate that Desi ppl care about what white people think argh!

 

[jusarrived]

I'm sure a lot of batsmen are jealous of his average of 22 in 8 ODI Tournament Finals.. I mean seriously.. such success definitely warrants the brainwashing campaign that the BCCI and the media carries out for King Kohli.. doesn't it?

Iam guessing those 8 finals are the only cricket you have watched in your life , so understandable !!

 

[Buffet]

azhar ali scored a double hundred at the mcg but i don't think many aus fans and ex players took notice

One big score vs 5-6 big scores. Also fans do notice double ton, but putting ton after ton is going to get you more attention.

 

[Proactive_]

no one is perfect but the fact is that kohli is the biggest star of cricket today by a country mile and from this time period no cricketer will be remembered more in the future

He's the biggest star because India is unequivocally the biggest cricketing market and obviously he has had the Indian media hype machine behind him for years. Means nothing. Even Jasprit Bumrah is a bigger star than Kagiso Rabada owing to the same factors; doesn't mean that Bumrah is anywhere near Rabada as a bowler.

 

[thehub]

He's the biggest star because India is unequivocally the biggest cricketing market and obviously he has had the Indian media hype machine behind him for years. Means nothing. Even Jasprit Bumrah is a bigger star than Kagiso Rabada owing to the same factors; doesn't mean that Bumrah is anywhere near Rabada as a bowler.

So Indian player can never be biggest star as they have Huge population all the time to hype them up? Sachin was not the real biggest star during his days?

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

He is not meant to be loved,he is supposed to win matches against them, anything else least matters.

Hate that Desi ppl care about what white people think argh!

This, my sentiments exactly.

 

[Proactive_]

So Indian player can never be biggest star as they have Huge population all the time to hype them up? Sachin was not the real biggest star during his days?

The point being that an Indian player would always be the biggest star in the cricketing world because of the fact that India is the biggest cricketing market with the biggest population, obviously an Indian player would get much larger media coverage, many more endorsement deals and much bigger chances to be a brand in the country than let's say a South African star. Ishant Sharma bowled 2-3 good spells in the Aus series in 2007 and by the end of the 2008 IPL auction he was already a millionaire and a much bigger "star" or known figure than many more accomplished cricketers from other countries. It had nothing to do with his comparative bowling skills with respect to the other fast bowlers of the world but more to do with the fact the hype machine got behind him immensely despite him not having achieved anything substantial in world cricket.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Dont think Kohli would have been such a big star if he was from Sri Lanka.

Every other aira ghaira nitto khaira Indian and English player is hyped to the moon. I found players from these countries the most overrated and in Kohli's case as a test batsman. Nothing impactful in '60' test matches and hyped as the best batsman and biggest superstar while he hardly makes it to the top 10 test batsmen in last 5 years. A main reason for that is he belongs to India not Sri Lanka.

 

[Convict]

Kohli and Clarke are close friends, so I am not surprised he is always backing Kohli.. Especially during last Australian tour of India when Aussie Media and players were tearing into Kohli, Clarke stood by Kohli always giving him support...

The fact that Kohli and the BCCI acted with genuine class in regards to Phil Hughes will always be remembered. Yes they probably acted the way one would expect the other team to act but the fact remains that India did stand by Australian cricket at the time.

I'd imagine that Clarke in particular remembers that.

 

[shane]

Apart from Indians, does anyone "love" Virat Kohli? Can someone start a poll on this?

 

[CanadianG00se]

Dont think Kohli would have been such a big star if he was from Sri Lanka.

Every other aira ghaira nitto khaira Indian and English player is hyped to the moon. I found players from these countries the most overrated and in Kohli's case as a test batsman. Nothing impactful in '60' test matches and hyped as the best batsman and biggest superstar while he hardly makes it to the top 10 test batsmen in last 5 years. A main reason for that is he belongs to India not Sri Lanka.

As long as he performs in ODIs/T20s majority of Indian fans will cherish him as superstar. Majority of Indian fans dont care about TEST CRICKET, and will not be sad if test cricket becomes history(dead).

Myself along with many Indian cherish the memory of Kapil lifting the worldcup in lords in 83 when i wasnt even born. Now, many generations will cherish Dhoni doing the same in 2011.

No one cherishes Indian test victories in overseas(if any) because test cricket hardly have any importance in average joe in India (excluding so called test purists on this forum)

 

[CanadianG00se]

Apart from Indians, does anyone "love" Virat Kohli? Can someone start a poll on this?

I dont think Kohli even cares if non Indians hate him. He probably have biggest fan base for a cricketer and also the richest. So, tell me why would he cares if some fans in some countries despise him?