BCCI Mulling To Axe Michael Clarke From Commentary Panel Following Spat With Partner, Ex-Australia Captain Could Lose $100,000

It is being reported that the BCCI is mulling a move to axe Clarke from the commentary panel following the leaked video of his spat with his partner.

Michael Clarke ( Image Source :AFP )

The last few days have definitely not been good on the personal front for ex-Australian captain Michael Clarke. The 2015 ODI World Cup-winning captain was involved in an ugly spat with his partner Jade Yarbrough. And now a recent report suggests that even professionally Clarke could receive a huge setback.

It is being learned that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is mulling a move to axe Clarke from the commentary panel following the leaked video in which he could be seen getting slapped by his girlfriend. The video was apparently shot by a bystander and Clarke can be heard denying claims of him cheating on his partner in the public.

A Daily Telegraph report confirmed that Jade had accused Clarke of cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend fashion designer Pip Edwards. "I accept full responsibility for this altercation and am shattered by my action,” Clarke was quoted as saying in the same report. 

The turn of events have now forced the Indian cricket board to review its decision of having Clarke in the commentary panel for the India-Australia Test series beginning on February 9 in Nagpur. Clarke along with former Aussie batter Matthew Hayden were offered a contract worth USD $100,000 and if he is removed it would be a big blow to the 41-year-old who has already, as per reports, lost several lucrative sponsorship deals.

Notably, India will host the Kangaroos for a four-match Test series- the Border-Gavaskar Trophy- which is also going to be the deciding series for the World Test Championship finalists.

India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia Test squad for India Series: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.