“His captaincy is underrated” - Michael Clarke’s huge statement on veteran Indian batter after AUS vs IND 2025 ODIs

Former Australian batter Michael Clarke believes India's Rohit Sharma is underrated as a white-ball captain. Clarke's remarks came after Rohit scored a sparkling unbeaten century in the final ODI against Australia in Sydney on October 25.

In what might have potentially been his final international innings down under, the former Indian captain punished the Australian attack for 121* off 125 deliveries to help the side to a comfortable nine-wicket win. Rohit was adjudged the Player of the Match for the Sydney ODI and the Player of the Series despite India losing the three-match affair 1-2.

Rohit has been one of India's most successful white-ball captains, leading them to two ICC titles in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Alongside Rohit, Clarke also had massive praise for Virat Kohli on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, saying (20:00):

"What a way for both players to leave the Australian shores. I've always loved the way Rohit plays and he has been a very good player in Australian conditions, which is totally opposite to India. His captaincy is underrated. He was a very, very good short-form captain for India. And he's one of the best white-ball players to have played. He's definitely in that conversation."

He continued:

"Again, Virat is the best ODI cricketer that I've seen, given the amount of games he has won for his team. The batting conditions were a lot better in Sydney, especially batting second, unlike the last two games where they lost the toss and got sent in. If they would have had the best of batting conditions maybe the series would have been different."

Kohli overcame back-to-back ducks in the opening two ODIs to score an unbeaten 74 off 81 deliveries, adding an unbroken 168 for the second wicket, in the Sydney clash.

"If he needs any help on the field, he can go to them" - Michael Clarke on Shubman Gill

Michael Clarke believes India's ODI captain Shubman Gill will benefit massively from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's presence on the field. The veteran duo has led India in a combined 355 matches across formats with incredible success.

Meanwhile, Gill recently became India's Test and ODI skipper, replacing Rohit at the helm in both formats.

"Shubman Gill said it perfectly after the game. He really enjoys having Rohit and Virat in the team. If he needs any help on the field, he can go to them. That's what you want in Shubman Gill's position. He doesn't have to, if he doesn't feel like it, but if he needs the advice, he's got them there. It'll help him as well. It'll quicken his learning up and tactically, it'll help him," said Clarke (via the aforementioned source).

The former Australian captain concluded by backing Kohli and Rohit to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup.

"If they are still making runs and winning games for their team, I think the next World Cup is realistic for both of them. It's a World Cup as well, where there is maximum pressure, and they know how to win and that's where you need your senior players to handle those pressure moments. Even if those guys made no runs and they qualify to the semis, I would be backing those two to be the leading run-scorers in the semi-final and the final," stated Clarke.

Kohli and Rohit are second and third all-time among ODI run-scorers from India with over 14,000 and 11,000 runs, respectively.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran