Just before the beginning of the India-South Africa series in October, the former India skipper Dada, a.k.a Sourav Ganguly, on Tuesday wholeheartedly praised the Indian Test captain Virat Kohli for displaying a winning mentality and aggression on the cricket field.
Ganguly said, “I am a big fan of Virat Kohli. He is a captain who always wants to win matches on the field and I love that passion in him. I love the attitude and aggression in Kohli. He might lose sometimes and win sometimes, but you know that he is playing to win it”.
He further added, “It is also a proud moment for all to see him lead a side with such passion. I want Kohli to do better than me as a skipper. But his main challenge will be when India will tour abroad. Australia, England, South Africa will Test his captaincy. All the best to him for the South Africa series”.
Although both sides have got really good and capable cricketers, this might prove to be another acid test for Team India as every cricket lover in this cricket-mad country is expecting our boys to defeat South Africans in our backyard. It is worthwhile to mention that India will play South Africa in three Twenty20 matches followed by five One-Day Internationals and four Test matches, starting in October.
Being one of the most sought after cricketer, 43-year-old Saurav Ganguly is all set to take over as the president of Cricket Association of Bengal after the sad demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya. He opined the visiting South African team are a strong side, but India will have an upper hand because of the home conditions.
He emphasized, “South Africa series will be a competitive series. They have a good team and India has recently played well in Sri Lanka. It is a long series. I always say that at home India is always a strong side. South Africa has bowling quality to take 20 wickets, India too has quality bowlers along with spinners in these spinning tracks. It will be a challenge for South Africa to hold on to their form for such a long tour”.
However, one will be able to assess the talent of test captain Virat Kohli only after adjudging his performance against Australia and England. But given the new role assigned to Dada, a few favorable words from him will certainly make a positive mark on vibrant Virat Kohli.
