Updated 23:14 IST, January 20th 2025
'The Greatest White-Ball Player': Sourav Ganguly Hails Batting Icon Virat Kohli As The Greatest Ever In White Ball Cricket
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has hailed Virat Kohli as the greatest white ball cricketer ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025.

Virat Kohli has cemented himself as one of the greatest cricket players not just in the history of Indian cricket but in world cricket. The Indian batter with 81 centuries to his name is a global superstar due to his batting prowess and India are never out of the game when he is batting. Virat Kohli holds the record for the most centuries in ODIs as he overtook Sachin Tendulkar for the record during the 2023 ICC World Cup. Now former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has hailed Virat Kohli as the greatest white ball cricketer.
Sourav Ganguly Hails Virat Kohli As Greatest White Ball Cricketer
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday refused to read much into Virat Kohli's prolonged lean run and hailed the batting maestro as the "greatest white-ball player" and "once-in-a-lifetime cricketer".
Kohli struck a second innings century in the opening Perth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but then managed only 85 runs in the next seven innings.
With seniors such as Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma failing to deliver, India lost the series Down Under 1-3.
"Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer. To score 81 international centuries in a career is something unbelievable. For me, he's probably the greatest white-ball player the world has seen," Ganguly said during a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)felicitation programme for the state's players.
Reflecting on Kohli's struggle after the Perth century, Ganguly said even he was surprised to see him not build on that hundred in the remainder of the series.
"I was really surprised the way he batted after getting a 100 in Perth. He struggled before that but I thought after the 100 in Perth, it'll be a big series for him.
"But I think it happens. Every player has his weakness and strength. You know, there's 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." With Kohli's poor form being a topic of discussion, Ganguly expressed confidence and said he would be back at his best in the three-match ODI series against England and the ensuing Champions Trophy.
Ganguly Feels Kohli Has A Lot Of Cricket Left In Him
"He will score runs in this tournament in Indian conditions, and I still feel there's a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli, the tour of England will be a big challenge for him.
"I'm not too worried about his form in the Champions Trophy, because as I said, he's probably the best white-ball player the world has seen for a long period of time." India are Champions Trophy contenders. Ganguly further said India would be one of the contenders in the Champions Trophy, especially after their runner-up finish in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup title triumph last year.
"I know India did not have a great series in Australia, but if you look at the last two World Cups, the T20 World Cup India won it unbeaten, and the 50-over World Cup India lost their final.
"So if you look at India's performance in the last two World Cups, they've just lost one game, in almost about 20 of them. So, I think it's a phenomenal white ball team. For me, they will be the favourites in the Champions Trophy." It will be a different Rohit come CT. Ganguly also backed struggling Indian skipper Rohit Sharma to return to his best in the Champions Trophy.
(With PTI Inputs)
Published 23:14 IST, January 20th 2025