ENG v IND 2018: Virat Kohli's mission is to make India the best team, reckons Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly also backed Virat Kohli and BCCI's stance on Yo-Yo fitness test.

Team India are currently the No. 1 ranked Test side | Getty

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has heaped praise on Virat Kohli, saying that the Delhi lad is a man on a mission to make his team the best. Recently, Ganguly appeared in Gaurav Kapur’s popular web-show ‘Breakfast with Champions’ where he shared his thoughts on the Indian captain. The episode will be aired on Thursday (July 26).

"When Virat Kohli plays, wherever you are, you will come and watch that, because he is playing. That is his impact. When you look at him, you will get to know that this man has a mission of making his team the best," Ganguly quoted.

Lately, there has been a huge hype surrounding around the Yo-Yo endurance test – a mandatory parameter set by the Indian team management for a place in the national side. The recent instances of players failing the test and subsequently getting snubbed from the team have only proved how serious the Indian team management and BCCI are about fitness.

"There is fitness and Yo-Yo test. People criticize it but there is a reason behind these tests. You have to be mentally tough. Now, cricket is fitness oriented and sports has changed over the years. I have a lot of hopes on Virat Kohli and nation believes in him," Dada added.

Talking about India’s forthcoming five-Test series against England, Ganguly stated that the Indian batsmen will have to show their mettle to win the series.  

"(It will depend) on the batsmen. You have to score 400 runs in Test cricket. If they get 400 runs in the first innings, they will win Test matches," Ganguly opined.

"They are a good team. If they bat well, they will do well in England. They can win the Test series. India has got a big chance of winning," he further remarked.

The highly-anticipated Test series between England and India will commence on August 1 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Lord’s (Aug 09-Aug 13) will stage the second Test while Trent Bridge (Aug 18-Aug 22), Rose Bowl (Aug 30-Sep 03) and The Oval (Sep 07-Sep 11) will host the third, fourth and fifth Test respectively.

India squad for first three Tests against England:

Virat Kohli(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 26 Jul, 2018

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