Virat Kohli and...: Sourav Ganguly names India's pivotal duo for World Cup 2023

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly envisions two players who will be crucial for Team India in the upcoming ODI World Cup.

The World Cup 2023 is set to take centre stage in India from October 5. The 50-over global tournament will be a litmus test for men in Blue as they look to replicate what MS Dhoni and his team did when the World Cup was last hosted by India back in 2011.

And as India gears up for the monumental event, former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has named India's key duo for the World Cup and the ongoing Asia Cup.

Ganguly has picked India captain Rohit Sharma as one of the key players for the team, and along with him, Dada has also picked Virat Kohli, whom he tips to be the 'strength' of the Indian team.

"He's (Virat Kohli) playing very well, there is no question about it. He will be India's strength, key player, along with Rohit Sharma. Rohit's form will be equally important. Last World Cup (2019) he got five hundreds, that's unbelievable performance," said Ganguly to RevSportz.

Ganguly also believes this is going to be Rohit Sharma's final World Cup and the Indian captain would be eyeing for the perfect swansong.

"And probably this is his first and last World Cup as captain, he might still do it in the T20 World Cup but for the ODI event, there is still four years and I don't think he'll be playing in another few years. Everyone will be important, and I hope they stand up and perform," he added.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma both are heading to Asia Cup after a decent outing against West Indies in the Test series. Kohli scored a century (121) and a half-century (76), while Rohit Sharma also showed his batting supremacy, scoring 240 (103, 80, 57) runs in his three innings.

In terms of Asia Cup, Rohit Sharma (745 runs in 22 innings) and Virat Kohli (613 runs in 11 innings) are the highest scorers for India among the active players. The duo will be hoping to come up with their class in the first match against Pakistan on Saturday (September 2).