Ganguly might have called Virat Kohli the “greatest white ball player the world has seen”, but he also commented on his recent struggles in Test format.

Virat Kohli kept chasing deliveries outside the off-stump in the series against Australia. He was dismissed in the same fashion on all eight occasions in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“I think Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime player for men’s cricket. To score 80 international 100s in a career is something unbelievable. For me, he is probably the greatest white ball player the world has seen,” Sourav Ganguly said during a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) event.

“But I was really surprised by the way he batted after getting a 100 in Perth. He struggled before that year but I thought after the 100 in Perth, it will be a big series for him. But I think it happens. Every player has his weakness and strength. There is no player in the world who will not have that. It’s how you adapt to your weaknesses as you play great bowlers over a period of time,” he added.

Ganguly feels Virat Kohli will come good in the upcoming Champions Trophy, slated to begin on February 19.

“I still feel there is a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli. A tour of England will be a big challenge for him. I am not too worried about his form in the Champions Trophy,” said Ganguly.

“As I said, he is probably the best white ball player the world has seen for a long period of time. He will score runs in the tournament in those conditions. I think India is one of the contenders for the Champions Trophy,” he added.

India a contenders for Champions Trophy

Sourav Ganguly also rated Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, as a phenomenal white-ball player. He also said that India are one of the strongest contenders to lift the eight-team Champions Trophy.

However, he feels there is a lot of work to do for the Indian team when it comes to Tests. He also stated that the upcoming tour of England will be a real challenge for the batters.

“Rohit Sharma’s white ball cricket is phenomenal. You will see a different Rohit Sharma once the Champions Trophy starts. As I said, they will be one of the contenders for the tournament,” said Ganguly.

“But come the red ball and come the swinging pitches, they will have to bat a bit better than what they have done. I have always said that if you score 350-400 runs on first innings of test matches away from home, you get yourself in a position to win test matches,” he added.