'He is someone who has played a lot of cricket before, who knows the situation we are in, what the team needs, and the requirements of Indian cricket.'
India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday gave a thumbs up to former skipper Sourav Ganguly taking over as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Kohli will be meeting Ganguly, who was elected unopposed as the BCCI president at the Board's head office in Mumbai, ahead of the selection of the Indian team for the upcoming series against Bangladesh.
"I am going to meet him now. I have met him before to discuss a lot of things. I am looking forward to a good discussion. He is someone who has played a lot of cricket before, who knows the situation we are in, what the team needs, the requirements of Indian cricket," said Kohli in Mumbai at the launch of the Audi A6.
Kohli believes Ganguly's experience of having played for India, and, also, having captained the country will help in a better understanding of things from the cricketer's point of view.
"You need a good, professional, high-level discussion. It will be a healthy discussion, because I am playing currently and he has played before. There will be an understanding of these things. I have had good discussions in the past with him and I expect the same this time," he said.
After taking over as the BCCI boss on Wednesday, Ganguly had said that he will do everything possible to support Kohli and his team.
"He is the most important man in Indian cricket, as captain of the Indian team. We will have a word with him and we will support in every possible way. He wants to make this team the best in the world," Ganguly had said.
"It has been a great team to be honest; the way they have played cricket in the last 3-4 years, they have been a fantastic side. Yes, they have not won the World Cup, and you don't win World Cups every time. Hopefully, we will support him in whatever he wants and make sure that Indian cricket goes ahead smoothly," he added.
Ganguly was one of India's most successful captains, having led the country in 49 Tests and 146 One-Day Internationals. He said as skipper he enjoyed a good relationship with the late Jagmohan Dalmiya when he was in charge of the BCCI and he will look to follow a similar template with Kohli.
"When I was the captain and Jagmohan Dalmiya was the president, I don't remember a day when he said no to anything. Likewise, when Srinivasan was the president and Dhoni was the captain, you know how the relation was good.
"Virat is the captain now and his relation with me will be the same. Whatever he will require for the betterment of Indian cricket, he will get. He is a very big player; see his game in the last four to five years, he has taken Indian cricket to a different level. We are with him and we will remain with him. We will give him everything for his team to be the best," he declared.
