Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly lavished massive praise on Virat Kohli ahead of the ODI series against England. Kohli's last ODI outing was against Sri Lanka after the T20 World Cup 2024 where he just scored 58 runs in the three ODI series.
Kohli holds a great record in ODIs, he has smashed 50 centuries in ODIs which is the most by any player who played the 50-over format of the gamer
“Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer," Ganguly said. “Like Jhulan (Goswami) and Mithali (Raj) are [for women’s cricket], in men’s cricket Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime player. To score 80 international centuries in a career is something unbelievable. For me, he’s probably the greatest white-ball player the world has seen" said Sourav Ganguly during the felicitation ceremony of Bengal U-15 women players organized by the Cricket Association of Bengal.
Kohli was recently featured in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 where he smashed an unbeaten ton in the first Test match after that he failed to carry the momentum further. He ended the five-Test series scoring just 190 runs. Ganguly also revealed that he thought the recently concluded Australia Test tour will be a big series for Kohli after he smashed an unbeaten ton in the first Test match.
“I was really surprised by the way he batted after getting a hundred in Perth. He struggled before that here, but after that hundred in Perth, I thought it’d be a big series for him, but it happens. Every player in the world has his weaknesses and strengths. There’s no player in the world who won’t have that. It’s [about] how you adapt your weaknesses as you play great bowlers over a period of time."
Ganguly believes that the upcoming ODI series against England is important for Kohli. This will be India's last ODI assignment before the Champions Trophy 2025.
“I still believe there’s a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli. The tour of England will be a big challenge for him. I am not too worried about his form in the Champions Trophy because like I said, he’s the best white-ball player the world has seen for a long time" added Ganguly.
Kohli will now be seen in action during the three-match ODI series against England which is scheduled to start from February 6 after that he will travel to Dubai with Rohit Sharma-led India for the Champions Trophy 2025 which will start from February 19 and India will start their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20.