File photo of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and former India captain Virat Kohli© AFP
Former India captain Virat Kohli will join a select list of Indian cricketers when he plays his 100th Test match in Mohali as India take on Sri Lanka in the first of the two-match Test series. Kohli is already one of the legends of the modern game and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly praised Kohli for his contribution to Indian cricket over the years.
“To begin with, you need to be a very good player to get there. Very few people in Indian cricket have played 100 Test matches. It’s a fantastic landmark. Virat is a great player and deserves every bit of it,” Ganguly told Hindustan Times in an interview.
“Expectations will always be there when you play at this level. I don’t compare different generations. But whatever number he has batted, whether it is No.4 in Test matches or No.3 in limited overs cricket, he has batted marvelously,” Ganguly added.
Promoted
Kohli endured a tough time in England on the 2014 tour, but the batter made changes to his game and dominated world cricket thereafter till 2019. Ganguly compared Kohli’s domination in that period to that of Rahul Dravid’s from 2002 to 2005.
“His technique, his positivity, his footwork, his balance…I like all of that. Above all, the way Virat changed his game after 2014 in England when he was struggling. I saw that Test series because I was working as a commentator there. And he had a remarkable five years after that. That’s what normally happens. I saw that with Rahul Dravid between 2002 to 2005. You see great players having these phases where they are at their peak. Sachin had many,” Ganguly said.
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