BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was confident that it was just a matter of time before India batting veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be at their best. This came after Rohit Sharma finished IPL 2022 with just 268 runs in 14 matches without a fifty for Mumbai Indians (MI) who finished last on the points table.
The same thing happened with Virat Kohli as, before his brutal 73-run knock against Gujarat Titans, the former RCB captain had endured a lean IPL with 236 runs from 13 innings which included three golden ducks.
Talking about the same, Ganguly said on the sidelines of a promotional event: "Everybody is human. There will be mistakes but Rohit's record as captain is outstanding. Five IPL titles, Asia Cup winner, he has won whatever he has captained, so his record as captain is outstanding. Mistakes will happen because they are all human.”
Backing the duo, Ganguly said: "They are very good players. I'm sure they will be back among runs. They play so much of cricket that at times they go out of form. Kohli played very well in the last game, especially when it was required for RCB. That's why he (Kohli) was so happy that RCB qualified. They are all great players, it's a matter of time they will be at their best.”
Ganguly also spoke on Rishabh Pant’s form, who failed to impress for Delhi Capitals who missed out on playoffs by a whisker, losing to MI in their final league match. Pant came in for some criticism after not opting for DRS after Tim David had edged the ball to the keeper and thanks to the reprieve slammed 34 runs in 11 balls to take MI home.
"Don't compare Pant with MS Dhoni. Dhoni has so much experience, has captained in 500-plus games in IPL, Tests and ODIs. So it's not fair for Rishabh to be compared with Dhoni,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly spoke about the fast bowlers that emerged in IPL 2022 including Umran Malik.
He highlighted: "His future is in hands. If he stays fit and bowls at this pace, I'm sure he will be around for a long time. Many have played well in this IPL. Tilak (Varma) has done well for MI. Rahul (Tripathi) for Sunrisers, Tewatia for GT. We have seen many emerging fast bowlers like Malik, Mohsin Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan... It's a place where talent gets exposure.”
(PTI inputs)
