The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly on Friday said that struggling batsman Virat Kohli needs to score runs not only for India but also for himself. Kohli has failed to score three runs in international cricket after scoring a century in the pink ball Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in 2019. He would like to try to regain the old momentum in the Asia Cup starting on Saturday. Ganguly said, "He (Kohli) needs to score runs not only for India but for himself. Hope it turns out to be a good season for him. We all are confident that he will be back in rhythm.
Ganguly, one of India's most successful captains, said, "I am sure that as we are all waiting for his century, he is working equally hard for him. In T20 cricket, the batsmen have less time, so the chances of scoring a century are less, but hopefully, it will be a successful season for Kohli.
The thirty-three-year-old is on a one-month sabbatical after the tour of England in June-July. The Indian team has played limited overs series in West Indies and Zimbabwe during this period. Kohli's highest score in the last five innings has been 20 runs in the second innings of the fifth Test against England.
After relinquishing the captaincy of Royal Challengers Bangalore, his bat did not live up to the expectations in the 15th season of the Indian Premier League. In this season of IPL, he scored 341 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22.73.
Defending champions India will start their campaign on August 28 with a match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Pakistan defeated the Indian team in the World Cup last year at the same venue. Ganguly said the T20 World Cup loss will have little bearing on the outcome of the upcoming matches. Ganguly said, "I have been watching the Indo-Pak matches closely since 1992. We have lost only once in these 30 years. It is no magic that the outcome will always be in your favor. You lose sometimes, it's not a big deal.
Ganguly's tenure as BCCI president is set to end in September and a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud will decide on the board's plea for revision of the 'cooling-off period after six years in office. He had worked in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) before becoming the BCCI President.
He said, “It is not in my hands. I don't know, whatever has to happen will happen. We will see.” Ganguly also expressed happiness over the contest between former players Baichung Bhutia and Kalyan Choubey for the post of President in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) elections. He said, “It is good to have players in sports administration. He has far better knowledge of the game. It is great that Kalyan Choubey and Bhaichung Bhutia are in contention for the top post of AIFF.
