Michael Clarke hails Virat Kohli's fighting spirit, says there is an Australian in Indian captain

New Delhi: It's a known fact that Virat Kohli certainly is not the favourite Indian in Australia. The world has seen the Indian captain taking on the might of Aussie media and section of fans Down Under every time the two teams engage themselves in a duel.

But former Aussie captain Michael Clarke revealed that Kohli has good fan following Down Under. Clarke also claimed that Virat has a lot of Australian in him.

"I disagree that Virat doesn't have too many fans in Australia. I think Virat has a lot of Australian in him," said Clarke, who was in Pune to promote Tourism Australia.

Regarded as one of fiercest competitors around, Kohli has his share of run-ins with the Australians. The Aussie media's obsession with the Indian captain has become as notorious as any other controversy in the sport.

"To be honest, he plays the game really tough and is really competitive on the field, but he is a nice guy off the field. So when people get to know Virat, they realize that what they see on the field is just his competitive spirit. I can't think of any Australian cricketer who wasn't like that every time we walked out on the field. I certainly think there is respect for Virat in Australia.

"You probably are not going to read the positive stuff (about Virat) in the Australian media though. They all want to write a negative story. But I have a great relation with him and I think he is respectful," added Clarke.

India, under Kohli, have just produced their first ever whitewash in away Test series, after blanking Sri Lanka 3-0 in a three-match series. The series triumph also helped India consolidate their numero uno position in Test rankings.

Meanwhile, Australia are taking on Bangladesh later this month with a target to improve their ranking.