Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised Rohit Sharma for his excellent performance in the ongoing Test series against South Africa. He is also happy with the performance of Indian pacers — Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

“I am very happy for Rohit. I don’t need to say that he is a top batsman. We all know what he can do. He got the chance to open, and he utilised it well,” Sourav said at the Eden on Monday.

For the record, Rohit has scored 529 runs in four innings in the ongoing Test series against South Africa. He is the top scorer of the series till date. Sourav had maintained that Rohit can open the batting for India in Tests. This is the first time Rohit got that opportunity.

Sourav is also thrilled with the performance of India pacers Umesh and Shami. “Umesh has been brilliant in the series. He has varied the length really well as on Indian wickets you don’t get a lot of bounce. But he has managed to get that. I would say it’s a very good comeback series for Umesh,” Sourav said.

Asked about Shami’s performance, the BCCI president-elect added: “He has been fantastic in the last one and half years. He is a very talented bowler.”

The former India captain is also pleased with the India’s overall performance. “The team is doing fantastic,” Sourav said.

Kohli’s availability

India captain Virat Kohli may want to take rest for the three-match T20I’s against Bangladesh, says the grapevine. Asked about the speculation going on, Sourav said he would not want to put any pressure on Kohli, leaving the call to him.

The first match is on November 3 in New Delhi. “I will meet him on Thursday. I will talk to him like a BCCI president talks to the captain. He is the captain and he can take a call on his availability,” Sourav said.