Sourav Ganguly says Virat Kohli will regain form in Asia Cup

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has asserted former Indian captain Virat Kohli will return to his former glory in the 2022 Asia Cup.

The former Indian captain has struggled in all formats. The 33-year-old, who last played for India on their tour of England, has not scored a hundred since November 2019.

Ganguly said that the right-handed batter needed to play more games to regain his form ahead of the Asia Cup, in which India will face Pakistan.

"Let him practice, let him play matches,” 113-Test veteran told India Today.

“He is a big player and has scored plenty of runs. I am hopeful that he will make a comeback. He is just not being able to score a century, and I believe he will find his form in the Asia Cup."

Kohli’s record

Kohli, who took a short break to recharge his batteries before returning to training in preparation for the continental tournament, has recorded a drop in his strike rate in the middle overs. The decline contradicts India's all-out attacking strategy.

He only managed 11 and 20 in the fifth and final Test against Edgbaston. He continued his poor form in T20Is, scoring only 12 runs in two innings. Following that, he scored 17 and 16 runs in the three-match ODI series against England.

Kohli also had a poor IPL 2022 performance. In 16 matches, he only managed 341 runs at an average of 22.73. His strike rate is also decreasing by the day. He had a strike rate of 115.98 in the IPL 2022.

In the Asia Cup, Kohli averages more than 60 points per game and is one of the tournament's leading scorers. He also holds the record for the highest score in the competition's history.

In 11 Asia Cup one-day matches, the former Indian captain averaged 61.30, 613 runs, and three centuries. When the tournament's format was changed to 20 overs, he averaged 56.50 in five games. He appeared in five Asia Cup T20 matches, scoring 176 runs and averaging 76.5.

The Indian team will begin their campaign against archrivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on August 28. Pakistan last defeated India in the Asia Cup in Mirpur in 2014.

India is the defending champion of the Asia Cup, which was last played in the ODI format in 2018. They won the championship after defeating Bangladesh in a last-ball thriller in Dubai.

Ganguly for next ICC chairman

In other news, some reports have suggested that Ganguly could emerge as a strong contender for the next chairman of the ICC, with support from several countries. However, Ganguly ruled himself out of the race in an interview with India Today, claiming that it was out of his hands.

“See, these are all speculations. These are not right. This doesn’t happen so fast. These are all in BCCI’s and Government’s hands,” Ganguly said.

The ICC recently announced that voting for its next chairman would begin in November. To replace Greg Barclay, the next chairman will be elected by a simple majority vote.