Virat Kohli Needs To Score Runs Not Only For India But For Himself: Sourav Ganguly

Ind vs Pak Asia Cup 2022: Virat Kohli has scored only one fifty-plus score in 22 innings across formats since April 2022 which is highly concerning ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022.

BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly opined on how important it is for Virat to return to form.

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India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 match in Dubai: Team India's former captain Virat Kohli is set to return back to cricketing action after almost a month's break. The legendary Indian batter will mark his comeback in India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 match at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, August 28. Fans are eagerly waiting for the high-octane India-Pakistan clash as they will get to see their favorite Virat Kohli back in action after a long gap. The star batter missed India's tour of Zimbabwe and West Indies after back-to-back failures. The batting maestro has scored only one fifty-plus score in 22 innings across formats since April 2022 which is highly concerning ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022.

Meanwhile, BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly opined on how important it is for Virat to return to form. 

"He needs to score runs not only for India but for himself. Hopefully it will be a good season for him. We all are confident that he'll come back," Ganguly said during an interaction, PTI reported.

"I'm sure like all of us are waiting for him to get that hundred, he's working for it as well," Ganguly said.

"The chances of getting a hundred in a T20 is less because of the time. But, hopefully, this will be a big season for Kohli." The 33-year-old former India captain, who was last seen in action in England in June-July, is back after a one-month break that saw him skip two white-ball series in the West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Ganguly refused to agree that a big player like Kohli can endure a lean patch as long as this.

"He's a very big player, there for a long time. I know he has his own formula to score runs. It's not possible that players of his stature can't have such a long lean patch, I know he will definitely score runs.

"If he was not a great player, he would not have scored so many runs for so long," Ganguly maintained.

Ganguly said the T20 World Cup loss would have little bearing on the outcome of the coming games.

"Since 1992 I've been following Indo-Pak matches closely. In these 30 years we have lost only once. It's not magic that you will always win. You lose once or twice, it's not a big deal," Ganguly said.

Asked about the pressure that comes with playing Pakistan, he said: "The ones who play regular cricket like in my playing days, it's just another game where you have had to perform. I never played thinking 'Pakistan, Pakistan' only. Maybe during a World Cup semifinal, qualifier match, that sort of emotions were there.

"If you take all that into consideration, I know the likes of Rohit (Sharma), KL Rahul, Virat, (Rishabh), Pant know how to handle the pressure." When asked whether Pakistan would miss their star pacer Shaheen Afridi, Ganguly said: "I don't think one player makes a difference in any team. We also don't have (Jasprit) Bumrah." Ganguly further said Hardik Pandya's return has been a huge boost for India post IPL.

"Absolutely... He's a huge addition to the side plus his bowling. Last year he was not fit to bowl, now he's gone back to bowling. So he is a huge addition," he said.

"No team is a favourite in the T20 format. Did anyone think of Gujarat winning the IPL. It's a different format altogether. You have so little time to recover," he said when asked about the favourites to lift the Asia Cup.

(With PTI Inputs)