Sourav Ganguly on Sunday called Virat Kohli ‘the greatest white-ball player to have ever walked on this planet.’ The former BCCI president added that Kohli is a one-in-a-lifetime cricketer from whose recent Test form he has no worries about, especially with regards to the 50-over 2025 Champions Trophy.
The short event was held between the 3-1 loss of India in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the five-T20I series against England, wherein Ganguly issued praise for Bengal U-15 women players. Kohli had a mediocre BGT where he scored a 100 not out in the first Test but only 90 in four subsequent Test innings.
“Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime player,” said Ganguly. “Just as we have had Jhulan [Goswami] and Mithali [Raj] for women’s cricket, in males, Virat Kohli is one such player. To score 80 international centuries in a career is unbelievable. For me, he’s probably the greatest white-ball player that the world has ever seen.”
“Honestly, I was really surprised with him, having scored the hundred in Perth. Before that series, he struggled here, then after the Perth hundred I thought it’d be a big series for him, but it happens. Every player in the world has weaknesses and strengths. The truth is, no player in this world will be without that. It’s all about how you adapt your weaknesses as you play great bowlers over some time.”
Kohli got out in the same manner in all but one of the completed innings in the series-an edge to a ball that strayed outside the off-stump. It is the sort of dismissal that should not bother him in white-ball cricket where pitches are much flatter, and the seam isn’t pronounced enough to consistently offer swing and seam.
“There is a lot of cricket left for Virat Kohli, but his next challenge is a tour to England, which is going to be a big issue for him,” said Ganguly.
“I still believe there is a lot of cricket left in him. The tour of England is going to be a big challenge for him. I really don’t worry about the form of Virat in the Champions Trophy because, like I said, he is the greatest white-ball player the world has witnessed for a long time.”
Kohli is probably going to be seen in India colors on February 6 in the first ODI against England.