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Virat Kohli, like Ganguly, has taken India-Australia rivalry to next level: John Buchanan

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Nov 18, 2020, 05:41 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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Australia’s World Cup-winning coach John Buchanan has recalled former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly as the leader who took the heated rivalry between India and Australia to a different level. The former Australian coach said that he finds shades of Ganguly in current skipper Virat Kohli. 

Australia’s World Cup-winning coach John Buchanan has recalled former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly as the leader who took the heated rivalry between India and Australia to a different level. Buchanan explained that the rivalry between India and Australia was only ‘developing’ when Ganguly was named the captain of the Indian team but turned his players into passionate bunch who could see that feared Aussie side eye-to-eye.

Buchanan also worked with Ganguly in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders. The former Australian coach said that he finds shades of Ganguly in current skipper Virat Kohli. 

“Once Sourav took over, he instilled a different way of not only playing but also a different way of just conducting themselves against strong oppositions like Australia. It was a developing rivalry for sure, but Sourav was able to take it to another level. Like Ganguly, Kohli has done the same thing for the Indian team,” Buchanan told Sportstar.

India are set to take on Australia in a four-match Test series to conclude the two-month-long tour. Last time in 2018-19 tour, India, under the leadership of Kohli, defeated Australia for the first time. 

“He (Kohli) has done an incredibly good job - irrespective of whether he is scoring runs or not. If we go back to 2019, [Cheteshwar] Pujara was the star of the series and Kohli made some contributions, so did [Ajinkya] Rahane... But Kohli’s real contribution is his leadership and captaincy and the way he instils greatness - not only to win games but also in finding a way to beat teams,” Buchanan added.

However, Buchanan feels that Kohli’s absence in the final three Tests will play a major role in determining the result of the much-awaited series. 

“I think his absence in the final three Tests is going to play a pivotal part in the way the series plays out,” Buchanan opined.