 "Sourav Ganguly hails Virat Kohli as 'greatest white-ball player', expects 'a different Rohit Sharma' in Champions Trophy")
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly hailed Virat Kohli as the country’s “greatest white-ball player” ahead of batting legend and his former teammate Sachin Tendulkar, as well as a “once-in-a-lifetime cricketer”.
Ganguly and Kohli did not share the best of relations when the former was in charge of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) between 2019 and 2022, with the batting superstar’s reign as captain across formats coming to an end in an unsavoury manner.
However, when asked about Kohli’s future in the Indian team, especially in the Test format after his recent struggles against New Zealand at home and against Australia away, ‘Dada’ came to his defence.
“Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer. To score 81 international centuries in a career is something unbelievable. For me, he’s probably the greatest white-ball player the world has seen,” Ganguly said during a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)felicitation programme for the state’s players.
“I was really surprised the way he batted after getting a 100 in Perth. He struggled before that but I thought after the 100 in Perth, it’ll be a big series for him.
“But I think it happens. Every player has his weakness and strength. You know, there’s no player in the world, who will not have that. It’s how you adapt to your weaknesses as you play great bowlers over a period of time," added Ganguly, who had captained India between 2000 and 2005.
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More Shorts‘There’s a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli’: Ganguly
Senior batters Kohli and Rohit struggling across the eight Tests against New Zealand and Australia was seen as one of the reasons behind India’s disastrous performance over the course of the last three months. India captain Rohit had collected just 31 runs across three Tests in Australia at an average just above 6, and had opted out of the XI for the final Test against Australia as a result.
Kohli, on the other hand, had scored an unbeaten century against the Aussies in Perth, where the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian team pulled off a remarkable 295-run victory. The 36-year-old, however, could only manage 85 runs in the next seven innings, and repeatedly fell victim to the channel outside the off stump while facing the Aussie pacers.
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Ganguly, however, had little doubt over Kohli returning to peak form in the upcoming ODI series against England as well as the ICC Champions Trophy.
“He will score runs in this tournament in Indian conditions, and I still feel there’s a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli, the tour of England will be a big challenge for him.
“I’m not too worried about his form in the Champions Trophy, because as I said, he’s probably the best white-ball player the world has seen for a long period of time," added Ganguly.
Ganguly offered similar thoughts for Rohit, who has had an even worse run in the Test format in recent months and whose legacy as captain took a major beating with the recent Test defeats.
“Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket is phenomenal, and you will see a different Rohit Sharma once the Champions Trophy starts. And as I said, they (India) will be one of the contenders in the tournament.”
As for the Champions Trophy, which returns after an eight-year absence, India will be playing all of their games in Dubai despite the tournament being hosted by defending champions Pakistan.
India favourites in Champions Trophy: Ganguly
Ganguly was captain of the Indian team when they had reached the final of the 2000 Champions Trophy (then known as the ICC KnockOut Tournament) and were joint-winners with hosts Sri Lanka in 2002.
And when analysing India’s chances in the ninth edition of the ‘Mini World Cup’, Ganguly felt the below-par performances in the Test arena would have little impact on their limited-overs fortunes, and that the Men in Blue would be the favourites heading into the upcoming tournament.
“I know India did not have a great series in Australia, but if you look at the last two World Cups, the T20 World Cup India won it unbeaten, and the 50-over World Cup India lost their final.
“So if you look at India’s performance in the last two World Cups, they’ve just lost one game, in almost about 20 of them. So, I think it’s a phenomenal white ball team. For me, they will be the favourites in the Champions Trophy.”
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