New Delhi: BCCI president and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has lavished praise on Virat Kohli, saying that the star batter is “more skilful” than him as a player.
Kohli, who went through a dry run of form, recently rediscovered his lost mojo during the Asia Cup 2022, where he hit his first international century after 1020 days. His ton (122 not out) versus Afghanistan was his first in the 20-over format as he touched the three-figure score in nearly three years – his last hundred coming in a Test match against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Notably, both Ganguly and Kohli played an aggressive brand of cricket as captains but the current BCCI president feels captaincy should not be compared.
“I don’t think that (captaincy) should be the comparison The comparison should be in terms of skill as a player. I think he is more skilful than I’m,” Ganguly said of Kohli in the ‘Ranveer Show’ on YouTube.
“We played in different generations, and we played a lot of cricket. I played in my generation, and he will continue playing, probably playing more games than I did. Currently, I have played more than what he has but he’ll get past that. He is tremendous,” he added.
Asked whether he gave Kohli any advice when he was struggling for form, Ganguly said, “I don’t get to see them. The poor guys travel a lot.”
The 50-year-old also spoke about how every player goes through media scrutiny.
“Everybody has been under media scrutiny. Just the names keep changing over a period of time. I won’t get to know half of it because I didn]t read so much. I would enter a hotel and the first thing I would say at the reception, ‘Boss, don’t put the newspaper under my door in the morning’,” he said.
“But now, obviously, it’s a lot more; social media is on your computer and phone. But I think cricketers find a way to shut that off,” he added.
During his playing days, Ganguly too went through many ups and downs, especially after his face-off with then-India coach Greg Chappell. The former left-hand batter said that cricketers should take the setbacks positively.
“I didn’t go through any trauma. I just had good days and bad days. I had less pressure, a bit more pressure and too much pressure I don’t consider it as trauma,” said Ganguly.
“Young people should also look at it that way. I can say it now because I’m a bit more experienced. But the young ones should look at it as an opportunity and move on,” he added.
The veteran explained how the game has changed over time.
“The game is different. It has gotten faster, shorter, more sixes, more boundaries, and not many deliveries left outside the off stump. The game has changed,” Ganguly said.
