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Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has backed out-of-form ace batter Virat Kohli and stated that there is a lot of cricket left in him. Kohli hasn't been in the best of form in a while, and his failures in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy have fuelled talk about his retirement.
Virat Kohli, perhaps India's most successful modern-day cricketer, has fallen from power. His average fell below 30 during the three-game home Test series against New Zealand.
Aside from a century in the Perth Test, Kohli failed to score more than 100 runs in the remaining four Tests against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Since India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and a spot in the World Test Championship Final, speculation about Virat Kohli's retirement has been rampant. The selection committee is considering overhauling the Test lineup by removing seniors ahead of the June Test tour to England.
Meanwhile, despite widespread criticism from the media and fans, former Indian cricketer and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has spoken out in favor of Virat Kohli.
Ganguly said Kohli has a lot of cricket left in him and must not retire anytime soon.
"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 time," Ganguly said during a CAB function, quoted by RevSportz.
Sourav Ganguly lauded Virat Kohli as the country's "greatest white-ball player" ahead of batting legend and former teammate Sachin Tendulkar, as well as a "once-in-a-lifetime cricketer.".
However, when challenged about Kohli's future in the Indian side, particularly in the Test format with his recent failures against New Zealand at home and Australia away, Ganguly sprang to his defense.
“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. I was really surprised by 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,” Ganguly said.
“But I think it happens. Every player has his weaknesses and strengths. 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.
Meanwhile, reports suggested that Virat Kohli, who won’t play Delhi’s upcoming Ranji Trophy match due to a stiff neck, will be part of the second match. This marks his comeback to the Ranji Trophy after 13 years.
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