Virat Kohli has the opportunity to be right up there: Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has become the latest person to heap praise on Indian batsman Virat Kohli. Speaking about the incumbent Test skipper, Ganguly said that Virat was one of the few players in the world now who actually has the opportunity to become one the world’s best players. Although it is too early to compare him with the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, the former India skipper said that the 27-year old most certainly had the talent.

Kohli was handed over the reins of India’s Test captaincy for the first time when the Indians went on the tour of Australia in the fall of 2014. Having captained India in the first and last Test, the 27-year old was handed the job on a permanent basis when MS Dhoni called time on his Test career.

“Kohli is terrific. Yes, he has got the opportunity to be up right up there.  These are still early days to compare him with Tendulkar and Dravid but he has got all the ability and talent to be right up there. Maybe in five to six years if you ask me the same question, I will be able to give you the answer,” Ganguly told intoday.in an exclusive interview.

“It’s not right to compare. All these names you are taking have been there for over 15 years. Let the likes of Rahane, Rahul, Kohli, Rohit, Murali Vijay play for that long and I am sure they can get lots of runs,” he said.

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Sourav Ganguly also went ahead and said a few words about Ravichandran Ashwin. “Ashwin has just got better and better. In these conditions, he is terrific but the best thing about him is that his bowling has improved on flat pitches and he is going to be a huge asset to the side,” he said.

Finally, the 43-year old added that the DRS system was something that had improved drastically over the years. “The DRS has improved a lot. If the umpires are happy if the players are happy and the board is happy, why not use it,” Ganguly said.

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