‘He has that aura’: Irfan Pathan explains why Virat Kohli is ‘very similar to Sourav Ganguly’

Former India pacer Irfan Pathan believes there is a huge similarity between Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly as captains.

Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli are two of the most successful captains that have led the Indian Cricket teeam. When you think about it, there is not much difference between the styles of captaincy between Ganguly and Kohli. In the early 2000s, Ganguly, as captain of team India, revolutionised Indian cricket. Under his leadership, the team developed a new match-winning attitude. Ganguly was also known as someone who would not step away from a conversation in the middle, and images of him waving his t-shirt at Lord’s after win over England is still a moment etched in the minds of cricket fans.

File image of Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli. (Getty Images/HT Collage)

Kohli has a similar attitude as Ganguly. He is always full of energy, and he never backs away from a challenge. The India captain oozes of confidence and the oppositions have realised that speaking to him during the play only makes him a better cricketer because he rarely ever gets rattled.

But the similarities between the captaincy styles of the two Indian stars do not end here. Former India pacer Irfan Pathan believes there is another huge similarity between Kohli and Ganguly as captains.

“He is very similar to Sourav Ganguly as well. A guy who backs his youngsters really, really well. Virat Kohli has that aura about him, that he goes out of his way to back the youngsters,” Pathan said in the latest episode of Star Sports chat show Cricket Connected.

“We have seen that with Rishabh Pant, we have seen the press conferences, he goes and says, ‘No, we need to back a guy like Rishabh Pant purely on his potential’,” Pathan added.

Meanwhile, Ganguly, who is currently the BCCI President in an interview revealed that he has spoken to Kohli over the upcoming tour to Australia this year and told him that he expects his team to win. India will play a four-match Test series starting from December this year, with the first Test to be played at Gabba in Brisbane. The last time India had travelled to Australia, the Virat Kohli-led side had won the series, becoming the first Asian nation to do so. Ganguly revealed that he has told Kohli that he has already set the expectations high.

“I have said that to Virat also,” Ganguly told India Today in an interview. “I said, ‘because you’re Virat Kohli, your standards are high. When you walk to play, when you walk with your team, I, watching on TV, don’t expect you to just play well against Australia. I expect you to win.”

“So for me, that is what it is. Because you have set the standards. It’s not anybody else. So you have to live up to the standards’,” Ganguly further added.