While Rohit’s captaincy received criticism and his performance as a batter in the WTC Finalwas not at its best, Clarke holds the view that the outcome of the final does not define Rohit’s abilities as a captain or India’s overall strength as a team.Clarke emphasises that a single loss in a high-stakes match does not diminish his leadership skills nor lessen the quality of the Indian team.
“Since taking over as captain he has won a Test series against Australia at home. He has done well as a batter as well. Think of his hundred in the last series. Losing a one off final doesn’t make him a bad captain and nor does it make India a bad team. To make consecutive finals isn’t easy. What it means is that India was the only team to play consistently well over a period of four years. To do so in Test cricket is commendable and I would urge you to look at that as well before making any kind of judgment call,” Clarke said while talking to Revsportz.
The 2015 ICC World Cup-winning captain feels reaching the finals of the World Test Championship in the consecutive editions is itself a big achievement. It highlights Team India‘s consistency and competitiveness in the longest format of the game over a span of four years.
“I would be keeping faith with Rohit, I think he is a very good captain. I like his aggressive approach, he looks to be as positive as he can be. He has had a lot of success as a leader (look at his IPL record for Mumbai) just because India didn’t win the Test World Championship doesn’t mean Rohit is not the right guy to lead India. The fact that India qualified again, they are the only team to make consecutive finals, says a lot about how they have played their Test cricket over the past four years (qualifying for both Test Championships). It is also a very important time for stability with the ODI World Cup right around the corner,” Clarke said.
