Former India captain Sourav Ganguly backed senior India batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to return to form during the ICC tournament. Ganguly also felt that India are not the outright favourites to lift the ICC title. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli might have had a tough time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but that has not made Sourav Ganguly lose faith in the batters.
Speaking exclusively to India Today on Sunday, February 2, the former India captain said that the senior India players will make a strong comeback in the Champions Trophy.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s current form and their performances in BGT 2024-25
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma tallied 93 and 91 runs, respectively, in the three Tests against New Zealand, which India lost 0-3 – their first whitewash on home soil after decades. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma faced plenty of flak for letting the Indian batting down, which crumbled against spin – losing nearly 40 wickets against Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips. Losing at home just before a series as high-profile against Australia is never good news.
Rohit Sharma managed to score just 91 runs in three matches in IND vs NZ series, scoring just one-half century in his last six innings. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, scored 93 runs in three Tests. The duo did not have a good series against Bangladesh either, forcing some critics to recommend that they return to the domestic circuit in order to prepare well for Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Virat Kohli, in particular, has no reason to worry as he enters a territory and faces a team against which he’s tasted plenty of success. In 13 Tests in Australia, Virat Kohli has amassed 1352 runs at an impressive average of 54.08. This includes the unforgettable 20-14/15 tour when Virat Kohli pummelled 697 runs with four centuries – twin hundreds in Adelaide.
Four years later, Virat Kohli led India to their maiden Test series win in Australia. In 2020-21, Virat Kohli had to leave the tour after the Adelaide Test due to the birth of his first child, all the more reason for him to be fiercely motivated and perform well.
In contrast, Rohit Sharma has an underwhelming record against the Aussies – just 708 runs from 12 Tests – but there is no better time to turn things around. Heading into BGT, India have two additional things to take care of – the fact that they are on the cusp of becoming the only team to register a hat-trick of series wins in Australia and that a place in the final of the World Test Championship is still up for grabs.
While India have constantly backed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, they will feel that the time is running out quickly for them. Both the players haven’t enjoyed the greatest of times recently, especially in Test cricket.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had a poor home Test season which involved matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Virat Kohli scored 192 runs in five Tests at an average of 21.33 while Rohit scored just 133 runs in five Tests at an average of 13.10.
Virat Kohli recently slammed a brilliant hundred in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. However, he failed again in both the innings of Adelaide. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has played just one match in the ongoing series but looked awfully out of form.
India greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are going through a massive slump in Test cricket. Kohli did manage to score a hundred in the first Test against Australia in Perth, but he hasn’t matched the standards he set in the first half of his career for a very long time. For Rohit Sharma, the concerns are greater as the Indian captain has looked a pale shadow of his own. With so much talent waiting in the wing, questions are now being raised if the two veterans deserve a place in the team.
There are calls from a section of the cricket fraternity to move on from the Ro-Ko pair and promote the deserving next generation of Indian cricketers. Citing the examples of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, they want no special treatment to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, calling for performance to be the only criteria to play in team India.
Both Rohit Sharma and Kohli have been retained for the 2025 Champions Trophy. However, their form will be under the scanner in the preceding three-match one-day series against England at home. Rohit managed only 31 runs in five innings during the Test series in Australia. Kohli finished with190 runs, but 100 of those runs came in one innings in Perth.
Significantly, the two veteran cricketers played stellar roles in India’s 2023 World Cup campaign in which the Men in Blue finished runners-up. However, India played only three one-dayers in 2024, so the players might need some time to adjust to the format again.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly hailed Virat Kohli as the country’s “greatest white-ball player” ahead of batting legend and his former teammate Sachin Tendulkar, as well as a “once-in-a-lifetime cricketer”. Besides Kohli, former India captain Sourav Ganguly also defended current Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma while backing the Men in Blue to put their disastrous run in Tests behind them and win the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
Indian legend Sourav Ganguly confident of Team India stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli stepping up in 2025 Champions Trophy
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly expects cricketing heavyweights Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to return to form during their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign. The former left-hander believes white-ball cricket is their strength, evidenced by their performances in the past editions of World Cups.
Kohli and Rohit have arguably been the nucleus of India’s ODI and T20I sides in the last decade. The last two Champions Trophy editions also saw Men in Blue’s campaign headlined by massive contributions from the two as they were amongst the national team’s highest run-getters.
During an interaction in Kolkata, Ganguly opined that Rohit’s and Virat’s mediocre performance in recent times should not have any bearing in the eight-team tournament. As quoted by India Today, he stated:
“In white-ball cricket, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are big cricketers. We hope the wickets in the Champions Trophy will be good, especially in Dubai. They’ve done really well in past World Cups in white-ball cricket. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will perform well. In the upcoming series, they will play well. They may not have played well in Australia, but they will definitely do well in the upcoming series.”
Kohli and Rohit Sharma were also the top two-run getters in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Kohli finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament, peeling off a record 765 runs, while the skipper scored 597. However, those runs went in vain as the hosts stumbled in the final, losing to Australia.
“India will be one of the favorites” – Sourav Ganguly’s prediction ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy
Sourav Ganguly also opined that a lot will depend upon how well Rohit Sharma and co. execute their plans, given all eight teams in the tournament are strong.
The 52-year-old added:
“India has won the T20 World Cup. In 2023, India was the runner-up in the 50-over World Cup. In the Champions Trophy, India will be one of the favourites, one of the contenders. How India executes everything will depend on that.”
“India’s white-ball team is very good. All the teams in the Champions Trophy are strong. It’s tough to say now. India, Australia, England, South Africa—many teams are strong. Pakistan is also there, as the tournament is in the subcontinent. It will depend on who plays well at that time.”
The Men in Blue will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai. Led by Virat Kohli, the Asian Giants finished as the runner-up of the 2017 edition, losing to arch-rivals Pakistan in the final at The Oval in London. It remains to be seen if both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form can be overturned or whether this is the final stretch of their international careers. Both men would be keen on shutting down questions regarding their abilities in the way that they know best; scoring the big runs for the Men in Blue.