"He (Virat) is a good leader ... He will be a good leader, but I have said before challenges for Indian captains is not in India its away," the former left-hand batsman said on the sidelines of Coca Cola-NDTV "Support My School" campaign here.
"I like him. I like what I see on the field, he wants to win, he is passionate, you can see on the field and India has hopes on him," Ganguly added.
Under Kohli's leadership, India had defeated Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the Test series and now have taken an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series versus South Africa.
The Nagpur pitch came under a lot of criticism after the third Test ended within three days.
More From This Section
When asked about the nature of pitches in context of match, Ganguly said, "It's ok, I thought, the batsmen could have batted better, the balls have turned there is not doubt about it, it turned, there was a lot of help for spinners.
"I think it's a one-off thing, I don't think India will produce such pitches....," he added.
On Ravindrachandran Ashwin, who razed through the South African batting order in the recent Test matches, Ganguly said, he bowled superbly.
"On these pitches, you have to bowl in right areas," he quipped.
On the proposed India-Pakistan series to be played in Sri Lanka, which is yet to get a clearance from the Centre, Ganguly said, "I don't know, it depends on the government... its always been the case ... India Pakistan (series) depends on the government and its not going to change.