Difficult for India to replace Dhoni: Clarke

In his column for the Herald Sun, Clarke wrote: "I CAN’T imagine there would be many jobs in international sport tougher than being the captain of India’s cricket team. From a touring captain’s perspective, it’s busy enough. There are always thousands of fans gathered outside your hotel, many others lined up along the team bus’ routes and a media contingent unlike anything else in world cricket."

"But we get to fly in, fly out. The Indian players have to live it every hour of every day. Popping out to the coffee shop isn’t an option for them. Most of their time is spent at home, a hotel, an airport or a cricket ground.I doubt many have dealt with the expectation, scrutiny, pressure and extreme adoration better than MS Dhoni," he said.

Appreciating the retired Indian cricketer, Clarke said: "How Dhoni has managed to hold down the captaincy while playing all three forms of the game AND wicketkeeping is beyond me. He’s done a wonderful job and I think the hole he has left in the Test team will be hard to fill."

India will play the final match of the Test series against Australia under the leadership of new skipper Virat Kohli.

With 2-0 lead, Australia have already clinched the series.