Virender Sehwag: Virat Kohli is an upgraded version of Sourav Ganguly

India captain Virat Kohli has attracted praise from the legendary Virender Sehwag following the team’s ODI series win in South Africa earlier this week.

The 73-run win in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday gave the Kohli-led team a 4-1 lead in the six-game rubber besides taking them to the No.1 spot in the ICC rankings for ODI teams.

Talking about the 29-year-old’s leadership qualities on India TV, Sehwag said: “Kohli’s aggression can be compared with that of Ganguly. In fact, he is an upgraded version of Sourav Ganguly.

“Under Ganguly’s captaincy, we saw some incredible wins overseas and such has been the trend so far with Virat Kohli.”

Kohli also had won nine successive Test series as captain before losing 2-1 to South Africa in the preceding three-game series.

In the ongoing ODI series, Kohli’s scores read 112, 46*, 160*, 75 & 36 and Sehwag thinks responsibility has made the India captain a better batsman.

“He has gained confidence with the captaincy. Unlike others, he has matured and has taken his individual game to the next level. He doesn’t take the pressure of captaincy. In fact, he has improved his game with responsibility. He has brought the trend of fitness in the camp,” he said.

Kohli was criticised severely during the Test series for his handling of certain players. But Sehwag begs to differ with the general perception that Kohli’s demanding nature can bring down confidence in players.

“This fighting team is the power of captain Kohli and I strongly believe that this team can do wonders in England and Australia. The best thing about Kohli’s captaincy is that he brings the best out in individuals,” Sehwag said.

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