Virat will have to improve in Tests’: Sourav Ganguly’s challenge for Kohli ahead of India vs Australia series

When Virat Kohli was down and out in the first half of 2022 and decided to take a small break from cricket, former India captain Sourav Ganguly had made a very interesting remark.

Kohli, who after the England series, had skipped the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe, was set to return in the Asia Cup, and ahead of his much-awaited comeback, Ganguly had said that Kohli will have to score runs for himself and hoped for a good season from the King.

Ganguly’s words worked like a charm as Kohli returned to his top form, first ending his century drought with an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan en route to finishing as the leading run-getter of the Asia Cup, and then emerging as the T20 World Cup’s third-highest run scorer with four half-centuries.

The century drought out of the way, Kohli ended the year by scoring his first ODI hundred in over three years, which as things panned out, was just the beginning. After finishing 2022 on a high, Kohli began 2023 in an extravagant way, scoring two centuries in three innings – with scores of 113 and 166 not out against Sri Lanka.

Kohli’s return to form in ODIs and T20Is come as a huge boost for India in a World Cup year, but the final frontier still remains – Test cricket. Kohli is yet to find his groove back in whites, and although he has played just two Tests in the last six months, Virat will up for a stiff test when India host Australia for the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Ganguly, whose prediction of Kohli’s return to form hit the bull’s eye, expects the former India captain to put up a much-improve show in Tests, given the importance of the series that starts February 9 in Nagpur. It was under Ganguly all those years ago that India brought Australia’s 16-match winning streak to a screeching halt, so he knows what is at stake, especially now since both teams are strong contenders to headline the World Test Championship final.

“Yes, absolutely. He has batted really well – against Sri Lanka, against Bangladesh. He will have to improve in Test cricket because India depends on him and a very crucial series against Australia is approaching which I believe will be a cracker of a contest. I expect it to be very competitive. Both are extremely good teams and it’s quite possible that these two teams go on to play the World Test Championship final,” Ganguly told Sports Tak.

Kohli will be fiercely motivated himself. During the last India vs Australia Test series when he was captain, Kohli returned home after India lost the first match in Adelaide to be there for the birth of his first child and watched the team script arguably the greatest comeback story in history. Furthermore, the last time India played a Test series in Australia – in 2017 – Kohli had a string of woeful outings scoring just 46 runs in three games at an average of 9.20 – statistically one of his worst ever.

For Australia – who are leading the WTC standings – to secure a spot in the WTC final, all they need to do is avoid a 0-4 whitewash, as their path became clear following their 2-0 series win against South Africa. India on the other hand, who are placed second on the table can afford to lose just one more Test. If they clinch the series, 4-0, 3-0 or even 3-1, they will go through. Sri Lanka are third, followed by SA at fourth, and SL’s outcomes determine to have an impact on the finalists too.