Michael Clarke suffers from horror radio pundit debut after high-profile divorce

Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke retired from international cricket in 2015. He was part of the Australian team that won the 2007 and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and was captain of the side in the latter. For his stupendous record in Tests and ODIs, Michael Clarke was widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of his generation.

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Michael Clarke’s radio debut reaps low returns

Michael Clarke recently joined the Big Sports Breakfast team for his radio debut. According to a Fox Sports report, his radio debut took a massive nosedive from the show’s earlier ratings. Michael Clarke’s debut radio appearance rated just 0.4 percent, i.e. less than half of their previous 0.9 percent rating as per a 2020 radio survey.

According to Tabcorp’s head of media communications Adam Hamilton, the lack of support during the ongoing coronavirus crisis has affected fan engagement in sports. He cited postponements of various Australian sporting events like National Rugby League (NRL) due to coronavirus as a reason of impacting the show’s numbers.

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Michael Clarke’s comments on Virat Kohli and IPL

Apart from yielding low numbers on radio debut, Michael Clarke also stirred up a controversy recently by criticising Australian team members. On March 2, the former cricketer said that Australian players are scared of sledging Indian players and have taken a soft approach towards Indian captain Virat Kohli with hopes of securing lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) deals. Clarke’s comments on Virat Kohli and IPL were soon contradicted by current Australian Test captain Tim Paine and pacer Pat Cummins. He also faced criticism from former Indian cricketers VVS Laxman and Kris Srikkanth, with the latter even describing his statement as “ridiculous”.

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Michael Clarke divorce with Kyly Boldy

Having tied the marital knot in 2012, Michael Clarke and Kyly Boldy announced their separation in February 2020. While issuing a joint statement to The Australian, the two explained that they mutually parted ways on good terms. The couple have a four-year old daughter Kelsey Lee Clarke.

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