Sourav Ganguly's final verdict for Virat Kohli ahead of Asia Cup return: 'He needs to score runs for himself'

Having being rested from as many as four white-ball assignments since IPL 2022, Kohli is all set to make a strong comeback to his dominating best, but ahead of his return, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has a final message for the India batter.

After a much-deserved break which many veterans and experts were largely in favour of, former India captain Virat Kohli is making a return to the Indian team for the Asia Cup tournament. Having being rested from as many as four white-ball assignments since IPL 2022, Kohli is all set to make a strong comeback to his dominating best, but ahead of his return, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has a final message for the India batter.

Sourav Ganguly; Virat Kohli

Starting Sunday, the day of India's opening game in the Asia Cup tournament, against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium, Kohli will resume his quest to break free of the century drought which has now gone past 1000 days in international cricket. Having last scored a ton in November 2019 in Kolkata, Kohli has now failed on 78 innings across formats to get to the elusive three-figure mark. And ahead of his return to the Indian side for the Asia Cup, Ganguly admitted that Kohli needs to score runs for himself.

"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 on the sidelines of a media event in Kolkata.

"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.

Earlier India vice-captain KL Rahul was also asked the same during pre-match presser on Kohli's ongoing struggle and the discussion within the team regarding the same.

"He has had a little break and he is working on his game. I was at home watching him on television when I was injured and I didn't feel like he looked out of form or out of touch. He was batting really well. He has obviously not been able to match up to the standards he himself has set and I am sure he is hungry to come out and win matches for the country. That is something he has always done throughout his career. His mindset has always been to win matches for his country. It was the case when he was captain and it is the same now.

“If a player is in that mindset I am sure good things will happen. We all eagerly want Virat to get back to the Virat Kohli form that everybody is talking about (but) we are not worried as the Indian team and I am sure he is not worried. We all want to get some game time. Obviously our main aim is the World Cup. By that time if the batters are in good nick by the World Cup or if the bowlers have played enough matches, they get enough confidence leading up to the tournament. That is our plan and what we will look to do as individuals and as a team,” said Rahul.