Former Indian national cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly backed Virat Kohli to come out on top in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He admitted that the batsman is aging but the right-hander will be hungry to score runs and help his team win in the five-match Test series.
Virat Kohli will be one of the key factors for the Indian national cricket team to participate in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Although the batsman hasn’t scored runs of late, the kind of impact he has made over the years and stepped up for his team in difficult situations makes him a vital cog for India.
Virat Kohli since 2020 has not been at his best in Test cricket
Kohli, since 2020, has not been at his best in Test cricket. The opening batsman averages just 31 in Test cricket, scoring just two centuries in 60 innings. He also failed in the entire home Test season and failed to score runs in two series against Bangladesh and the New Zealand national cricket team.
Virat Kohli scored just 93 runs against New Zealand, where he averaged just 15.50, his worst result in a home match in the last seven years. There have even been reports that if he fails to progress in the Test series against the Australian national cricket team, he may be dropped.
But the type of player he has been and the way he has risen under pressure makes him a dangerous player. Furthermore, his record against Australia is something that will work in his favour, and he will no doubt want to silence all his critics with the bat in the upcoming series.
Virat Kohli has amassed 2042 runs in 25 Tests at an average of 47.48. He also scored 8 centuries against Australia, of which 6 were away, which indicates how much he enjoys playing against them, and his statistics will be a big boost for the Indian national cricket team.
I never rule out great players – Sourav Ganguly on Virat Kohli
Sourav Ganguly said that he never rules out great players like Virat Kohli. The former BCCI president admitted that the batsman has not been in great form and stated that the right-hander will know that he will have to maintain his reputation. Speaking on Club Prairie Fire, he explained:
“I never rule out great players. He hasn’t had the best of times in Test cricket. He landed early in Australia. He’s hungry. He knows he has a reputation to uphold. He will play on good fields. He has six Test hundreds in Australia in 13 Tests. Yes, it was 4-5 years ago, and that was a young Virat Kohli. “He’s getting older now.”
I have seen Rahul Dravid, he didn’t have a hundred overseas between 2007 and 2011 – Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly, while backing Virat Kohli, cited the example of how Rahul Dravid did not score a hundred abroad between 2007 and 2011, but hit three tons during the England tour. He revealed how Dravid had believed in him. He elaborated:
“I have seen Rahul Dravid. He didn’t have a hundred overseas between 2007 and 2011, then left for England. I met him one day at Lord’s. I had finished a year ago and was commenting. I asked him how long he was going to play and he said he still believed he could do it and still score runs. He scored four (three) Test hundreds in four matches in that series in 2011. And remember, he opened in that series,” he concluded.
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