'Chief I Don't Expect You To Only Play Well But Win In Australia': Sourav Ganguly Reveals His Message For Virat Kohli

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said Virat Kohli & Co. will face a different Australian side on their upcoming tour of Australia later this year. The BCCI president said that the current Australia team will be more challenging for India than the side that lost the home series against the Virat Kohli-led side in 2018.

India beat Australia 2-1 in the 2018-19 series to retain the Border-Gavaskar series. The series win was India’s first Test series victory on the Australian soil. The hosts were missing two of their biggest names – Steve Smith and David Warner – as the two batting stars were serving their bans for the ball-tampering scandal.

In the absence of Smith and Warner, Australia’s batting could not really stood up against India as the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma blew the hosts away. With Warner and Smith now back in the team, Sourav Ganguly believes Team India face a tough job.

At the same time, he also expressed his belief in the strong batting and bowling unit of the Indian team. Sourav Ganguly said that India will have to pile up massive runs on the scoreboard as that was the key when his team triumphed in England, Australia and Pakistan.

“It’s going to be a tough series. It’s not going to be what it was in 2018 when they went. It’s going to be a strong Australia but our team is as good. We have the batting, we have the bowling,” Sourav Ganguly told India Today.

“Absolutely (hopeful of the team). We just got to bat better. You know the best teams overseas, they bat well. When we were so successful away from home, in England, in Australia and in Pakistan, we were getting 400, 500 and 600 in Test matches,” he added.

Sourav Ganguly also revealed that he refers Virat Kohli as ‘chief’ and added that he has tremendous regard for the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma and Jaspirt Bumrah. The legendary cricketer revealed that he has expressed his expectations from Virat Kohli.

“I have said that to Virat also. I said ‘chief’, I have tremendous regard for him, tremendous regard for Rohit Sharma and Bumrah as well.

“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,” Sourav Ganguly stated.

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