Select the most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence.

Sushma said to Mohit, “You have always been the cleverest in the family.”

Sushma told Mohit that he had always been the cleverest in the family.

The most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence is:

Sushma told Mohit that he had always been the cleverest in the family.

The other answer choices are incorrect for the following reasons:

• Sushma asked Mohit whether he had always been the cleverest in the family. - This is incorrect because the original sentence is a statement, not a question.
• Sushma complimented Mohit and said that you are the cleverest in the family. - This is incorrect because the reporting verb "complimented" suggests that Sushma was praising Mohit, but the original sentence is a simple statement of fact.
• Sushma said to Mohit that you have always been the cleverest in the family. - This is incorrect because the pronoun "you" in the reported speech refers to the speaker, which is Sushma.