I think he is going in the right direction, Sourav Ganguly praises Virat Kohli's captaincy

What's the story?

After the 4-1 victory over Australia, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly praised captain Virat Kohli for preparing his team and going in the right direction ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

However, the left-hander also pointed out that Kohli's real challenge starts when the team tours South Africa next year and is confident that this side will succeed in the rainbow nation as well.

"Virat Kohli has got qualities of being one of India's great captains, there's no doubt about it. I think next 15 months will be important for him when India go to South Africa, England, Australia and the World Cup. I think he is in the right direction. He is preparing his team, he's picking players and giving opportunities. They will beat New Zealand and Sri Lanka, there's no doubt about it. India will be challenged when they go to South Africa but I feel this side has got the ability to do well there as well, Ganguly said India Today.

In case you didn't know...

Ever since Kohli took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni, the Indian side has been doing well across all the three formats. The Indian skipper is yet to lose a bilateral series as a captain and adding to that, he has taken the team to the top of the ICC rankings in both Tests and ODIs.

Details

Ganguly pointed out that Kohli has all the qualities to become one of India's greatest captains. Till now, India hardly toured under Kohli as most of the series the team played the right-hander were in the subcontinent.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the team was led brilliantly but the real test for Kohli will start when the team starts touring overseas. The Indian team, in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup, is scheduled to tour South Africa, England and Australia.

What's next?

India will play three T20Is against New Zealand followed by 9 matches (3 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is) against Sri Lanka before Kohli's men start their South African sojourn.

Author's Take

What Ganguly said is completely fine. The team has done well so far and the real challenge waits for them when they start touring. If the Kohli-led Indian team manages to do well in the next 14-15 months, the skipper will go on to become one of India's finest captains.

The way they are playing as an unit, one should not be surprised if this Indian team goes on to conquer the overseas territories.