"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will perform well" - Indian legend confident of Team India stalwarts stepping up in 2025 Champions Trophy

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly expects cricketing heavyweights Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to return to form during their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign. The former left-hander believes white-ball cricket is their strength, evidenced by their performances in the past editions of World Cups.

Kohli and Rohit have arguably been the nucleus of India's ODI and T20I sides in the last decade. The last two Champions Trophy editions also saw Men in Blue's campaign headlined by massive contributions from the two as they were amongst the national team's highest run-getters.

During an interaction in Kolkata, Ganguly opined that Rohit's and Virat's mediocre performance in recent times should not have any bearing in the eight-team tournament. As quoted by India Today, he stated:

"In white-ball cricket, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are big cricketers. We hope the wickets in the Champions Trophy will be good, especially in Dubai. They’ve done really well in past World Cups in white-ball cricket. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will perform well. In the upcoming series, they will play well. They may not have played well in Australia, but they will definitely do well in the upcoming series."

Kohli and Rohit were also the top two-run getters in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Kohli finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament, peeling off a record 765 runs, while the skipper scored 597. However, those runs went in vain as the hosts stumbled in the final, losing to Australia.

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"India will be one of the favorites" - Sourav Ganguly ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy

Sourav Ganguly. (Image Credits: Getty)

Sourav Ganguly also opined that a lot will depend upon how well Rohit Sharma and co. execute their plans, given all eight teams in the tournament are strong.

The 52-year-old added:

"India has won the T20 World Cup. In 2023, India was the runner-up in the 50-over World Cup. In the Champions Trophy, India will be one of the favourites, one of the contenders. How India executes everything will depend on that. India's white-ball team is very good. All the teams in the Champions Trophy are strong. It’s tough to say now. India, Australia, England, South Africa—many teams are strong. Pakistan is also there, as the tournament is in the subcontinent. It will depend on who plays well at that time."

The Men in Blue will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai. Led by Virat Kohli, the Asian Giants finished as the runner-up of the 2017 edition, losing to arch-rivals Pakistan in the final at The Oval in London.