diff --git a/builtin/clone.c b/builtin/clone.c
index 4348d962c9..2caefc44fb 100644
--- a/builtin/clone.c
+++ b/builtin/clone.c
@@ -1130,7 +1130,7 @@ int cmd_clone(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (option_required_reference.nr || option_optional_reference.nr)
 		setup_reference();
 
-	if (option_sparse_checkout && git_sparse_checkout_init(repo))
+	if (option_sparse_checkout && git_sparse_checkout_init(dir))
 		return 1;
 
 	remote = remote_get(option_origin);
diff --git a/t/t1091-sparse-checkout-builtin.sh b/t/t1091-sparse-checkout-builtin.sh
index 43d1f7520c..cf4a595c86 100755
--- a/t/t1091-sparse-checkout-builtin.sh
+++ b/t/t1091-sparse-checkout-builtin.sh
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ test_expect_success 'init with existing sparse-checkout' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'clone --sparse' '
-	git clone --sparse repo clone &&
+	git clone --sparse "file://$(pwd)/repo" clone &&
 	git -C clone sparse-checkout list >actual &&
 	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
 	/*