Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has praised the current Test skipper Virat Kohli and compared him with the legendary Argentine Footballer Diego Maradona for the passion with which both of them play their sport for their country.
One of my favourite sportsmen was Diego Maradona and every time I saw him play football, you could see the passion in the heart. You see the same thing with Virat Kohli. I love his body language. I am a big fan of Kohli. I love him off the field, as well. It’s about passion. I have got lot of faith in Virat Kohli. Whatever I’ve seen of him from the ground or TV, it gives me a lot of confidence,” Ganguly was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz, the sponsors of the 3 match Test series between India and Sri Lanka.
Ganguly also acknowledged Kohli’s hunger for runs, his urge to win and also lauded the decision to field five bowlers, labelling it as an ‘attacking move. He’s hungry, he wants to win. He got a Test hundred again as a captain. He’s scored four hundreds from the four Tests he captained so far. This is a fabulous sign. It’s (picking five bowlers) an attacking thought. It has worked in this series so far — we are in a commanding position on day two. Now, you have to stick to that. It’s too early to pass a judgment now. Australia were the best side in the world with four as they had four outstanding bowlers in (Glenn) McGrath, (Shane) Warne, (Jason) Gillespie and (Brett) Lee. It depends on the team and the situation and at present I think it’s a great move by India, Ganguly said.
Ganguly also cleared the air regarding Rohit Sharma’s spot in test side ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara and also said that it won’t be fair to judge a player by 1 or two tests. Ganguly also gave his nod for Rohit to be in the side and explained his decision..
Give (Rohit) Sharma an opportunity at No. 3 for a while. You cannot just see someone for a Test and leave him out. India need to build a team for all conditions. I am completely in favour of Sharma getting an opportunity, Ganguly said.
India were in the driver’s seat of the first test as Sri Lanka were reeling at 5/2 in the second innings and trailing the visitors by 192 runs.