Calcutta: Virat Kohli’s stupendous form, of late, has been grabbing headlines. His 183-run blitzkrieg against Pakistan, on Sunday, in fact, left a certain Sourav Ganguly, breathless.

“Brilliant…” Sourav said at a promotional in the city, on Monday. “It was one of the best innings I’ve seen in my life. He is the next big thing in Indian cricket. I hope he fills up the place of the champion, Rahul Dravid, at No. 3,” Sourav said.

It is just a co-incidence that such effusive praise came from a man who scored the same number of runs against Sri Lanka, during the 1999 World Cup.

“My 183 was a one-off innings…” Sourav reminisced. “It was special… But I’d rate it alongside my 97 in the opening match against South Africa”.

Sourav, who has always been a fan of Sachin Tendulkar, spoke of The Master in superlatives when asked to comment on the awesome achievement of 100 International centuries.

“I’ve always maintained that it was just a matter of time! It’s a colossal achievement. I sent him a text message after the feat… But I haven’t called him as yet…”

“He’s simply outstanding… No one should tell him when to retire,” the southpaw said, reacting against those who were, but only recently, calling for the icon’s retirement.

“Sachin, whether he’s on top of his game or not, would continue playing for India. He’s gifted… He’s still so fit”.

When asked on why he retired, while he was still on top of his game, the former India captain said: “I retired because I knew I was a couple of matches away from failure.”

Sachin, however, recently, stated that as long as players are playing well, it is their duty to perform for their country. “I know what Sachin said… But I felt that players should leave when the team is still doing so well. You always want to see a champion leaving when the bat’s high.”

Sourav, who will captain the Pune Warriors in IPL V, is looking forward to the tournament.

He, however, made no promises, “There’s no guarantee that I’ll play well in the IPL. I would try my best… Hoping to perform well. Let’s see”.

On his stint as the India captain, Sourav joked: “It’s never the best time to become the captain of the Indian team… In India, the person next in line is always expected to be the better captain”.