Virat Kohli faced significant challenges during his recent tour of Australia. The 36-year-old managed to accumulate 190 runs across nine innings. His performance would have been even less impressive had he not achieved a century in the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of India and current president of the BCCI, expressed his surprise at Kohli's performance following his century in the second innings of the first Test against Australia.

While Ganguly has referred to Kohli as the "greatest white ball player the world has seen," he also acknowledged the difficulties Kohli has encountered in the Test format recently.

Throughout the series against Australia, Kohli consistently chased deliveries outside the off-stump, leading to his dismissal in this manner on all eight occasions during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

"I believe Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-generation talent in men's cricket. Achieving 80 international centuries is an extraordinary feat. In my opinion, he is arguably the greatest white ball player the world has ever witnessed," stated Sourav Ganguly at a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) event.

"However, I was genuinely taken aback by his batting performance after scoring a century in Perth. He had been struggling prior to that year, and I anticipated that following the century in Perth, he would have a remarkable series. Yet, such occurrences are part of the game. Every player possesses both weaknesses and strengths. No player is devoid of these traits. It is essential to adapt to one's weaknesses while facing top bowlers over time," he elaborated.

Ganguly remains optimistic that Kohli will excel in the forthcoming Champions Trophy, which is set to commence on February 19.

"I firmly believe that Virat Kohli has plenty of cricket left in him. The tour of England will present a significant challenge for him. I am not overly concerned about his form heading into the Champions Trophy," Ganguly remarked.

"As I mentioned, he is likely the best white ball player the world has seen for an extended period. He will score runs in the tournament under those conditions. I consider India to be one of the strong contenders for the Champions Trophy," he concluded.

India a contenders for Champions Trophy

Sourav Ganguly has praised Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team, as an exceptional player in white-ball formats. He expressed confidence that India stands as one of the leading contenders to win the Champions Trophy, which features eight teams.

Nevertheless, Ganguly emphasized that the Indian team has significant improvements to make in Test cricket. He remarked that the forthcoming tour of England will present a considerable challenge for the batsmen.

“Rohit Sharma's performance in white-ball cricket is outstanding. A different version of Rohit Sharma will emerge once the Champions Trophy commences. As I mentioned, they will be among the top contenders for the tournament,” Ganguly stated.

“However, when it comes to red-ball cricket and the challenging swinging pitches, the players will need to enhance their batting performance compared to their previous efforts. I have consistently maintained that scoring 350-400 runs in the first innings of Test matches abroad places you in a favorable position to secure victories,” he further noted.

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