Virat Kohli notched up his much-awaited 71st international century on Thursday (September 8) as he slammed 122* off 61 balls in India’s last Asia Cup 2022 Super-4 clash against Afghanistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
It came in the form of his maiden T20I hundred and after a wait of nearly three years, 1020 days to be precise. Before this, Kohli’s last century was against Bangladesh in a day-night Test match at the Eden Gardens in November 2019.
With this knock, Virat also equalled Ricky Ponting's tally of 71 international centuries and only Sachin Tendulkar (100) is now ahead of him.
In a podcast, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Friday (September 9) hailed Virat Kohli, calling him a more skilful player than himself.
Speaking on a YouTube channel called TRS Clips, Ganguly was asked to share his thoughts on the comparison between him and Virat in terms of being aggressive and the former India cricketer replied: “The comparison should be in terms of skill as a player. I think he is more skilful than I’m. We played in different generations, and we played a lot of cricket. I played in my generation, and he will continue playing, probably playing more games than I did. Currently, I have played more than what he has but he’ll get past that. He is tremendous.”
Ganguly, who represented India in 11 Tests and 311 ODIs, shared his views on the constant criticism faced by cricketers and how one should deal with it.
“Everybody has been under media scrutiny. Just the names keep changing over a period of time.
“I won’t get to know half of it because I didn’t read so much. I would enter a hotel and the first thing I would say at the reception, ‘Boss, don’t put the newspaper under my door in the morning’. But now, obviously, it’s a lot more; social media is on your computer and phone,” Ganguly said.
“I didn’t go through any trauma. I just had good days and bad days. I had less pressure, a bit more pressure and too much pressure. Young people should also look at it that way. I can say it now because I’m a bit more experienced. But the young ones should look at it as an opportunity and move on,” he added.
The BCCI chief also commented on the change in the game over the course of time.
“The game is different. It has gotten faster, shorter, more sixes, more boundaries, and not many deliveries left outside the off stump. The game has changed,” Ganguly said.
