'Virat Kohli Should Play...': Sourav Ganguly Hits Back At Shoaib Akhtar's ODI Retirement Comment

Former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly recently responded to ex-Pakistan star Shoaib Akhtar's comment regarding Virat Kohli's future in one-day international cricket.

The former fast bowler feels Kohli should step away from ODIs after the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 in India to prolong his career in Test career.

"I don't think he should play more 50-overs matches after this World Cup. Also, if you see him in T20s, it takes a lot out of him. I think he should play for at least six more years and break the 100 hundreds record of Sachin Tendulkar.

"Kohli has it in him to break the record. He should focus on Test cricket after this World Cup, and break this record," Akhtar said on the show'Backstage with Boria' on Thursday.

But Ganguly completely disagreed with Akhtar's analysis and was in fact taken aback when he was told what the 'Rawalpindi Express' said.

"Why? Virat Kohli should play whatever cricket he wants to play. Because he performs," Ganguly said during an event.

Dada's advice for Team India in T20Is

The former India captain also responded on the criticism that India faced after losing the T20I series in West Indies advised the team to pick their best players in the shortest format.

"Pick your best players. He may be a left-hander or a right hander. India have outstanding left-handers... they will find a place in the side. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan. Then there is Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya... it's a terrific side.

"India is a country where there is evaluation after every game. They are a good team if they win and become bad after a loss. You have to live with that. It's part and parcel of the sport," he added.