Is the end of Virat Kohli coming? Sourav Ganguly delivers a brutally honest verdict on the ‘GOAT’
Former Indian national cricket team captain and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has given a strong verdict on the future of modern-day great Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli has struggled with his form, especially in Test cricket, and had a poor run in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
The right-handed batsman’s struggles surprised Sourav Ganguly, who expected him to set the stage on fire in the Test series against the Pat Cummins-led side.
Virat Kohli smashed a ton in BGT 2024-25
Kohli started the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. on a positive note as he scored a magnificent century in the second innings of the opening Test series at the Perth Stadium.
However, things changed completely after that as the batsman started to struggle while facing the Australian pacers and his outside weakness was fully exposed.
He was dismissed on eight occasions while chasing deliveries outside the off-stump, raising serious questions about the modern great’s technique.
In all, Kohli scored 190 runs in BGT 2024-25 at an average of 23.75 as India lost the trophy for the first time in a decade.
To me he is probably the greatest white ball player the world has seen – Sourav Ganguly
Meanwhile, Ganguly called Kohli the best white-ball player of all time but expressed surprise at his failures in the Test series against Australia.
“I think Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime player for men’s cricket. To score 80 international 100s in a career is something incredible. For me, he is probably the greatest white-ball player the world has seen,” Sourav Ganguly said during a Bengal Federation event. of Cricket (CAB).
“But I was really surprised with the way he batted after he got 100 in Perth. He struggled before that year but I thought after the 100 in Perth it would be a big run for him. But I think it’s happening. Each player has his own weakness and strength. There is no player in the world who will not have that. It is how you adapt to your weaknesses while playing great bowlers over a period of time,” he added.
I still feel there is a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli – Sourav Ganguly
The former India captain, however, was of the opinion that Virat Kohli’s end is nowhere near at the moment and there is still a lot of cricket left in him.
Sourav Ganguly said the biggest challenge for Virat Kohli will be the 2025 Test tour of England and he is not worried about the batsman’s form ahead of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
“I still feel there is a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli. The England tour will be a big challenge for him. I am not too worried about his form in the Champions Trophy,” Ganguly said
“As I said, he is probably the best white-ball player the world has seen in a long time. He will score runs in the tournament in these conditions. I think India are one of the contenders for the Champions Trophy,” he added.
