By IANS
Melbourne : Legendary spinner Shane Warne has backed Australian selectors’ decision to appoint Michael Clarke as the Twenty20 vice-captain and said the young all-rounder must be given the responsibility for Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI) as well.
Clarke, 26, has been named vice-captain of Australia’s Twenty20 side that will take on India in a one-off match here Friday.
“I said it a while ago that Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) was not far off [from] retiring and to me Michael Clarke is the logical choice to take over as vice-captain on a full-time basis,” Warne was quoted by the Herald Sun as saying.
“Clarke ticks all the boxes. He is a great leader, a great batsman and he has consolidated his spot in both forms of the game.”
Warne, who had surprised everyone last month by calling for Gilchrist’s sacking from the vice-captaincy in his column, was of the view that Australia have a good leader in Ricky Ponting.
He also conceded that there is no point in having separate skippers for Tests and ODIs and insisted that Clarke be named vice-captain in order to give him the opportunity to groom under Ponting.
“There is no point in having one captain for Tests and one for ODIs. Clarke has got the opportunity to learn under Ponting now,” Warne reiterated.
The 38-year-old former spinner, who has taken up the responsibility of finding his successor in the Australian team, was also of the view that Clarke and Symonds’ part-time spin would be very handy for Ponting in all forms of the game if used properly.
“I think Clarke might be being under bowled a bit. He has shown he can be a match winner with the ball on a few occasions in Tests. Andrew Symonds too can bowl his spinners as well when the conditions suit. Both the guys should not be overlooked with the ball,” he said.