Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has dismissed the hype around Pakistan’s mystery spinner Usman Tariq ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 clash at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Ganguly feels Tariq is just another off-spinner and India will be able to counter him.
“Nothing is difficult, he (Tariq) is an off-spinner and he just bowls with a pause. He is an out-an-out off-spinner and India will play him well,” Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) told the reporters at an event.
Tariq claimed three wickets for 27 runs against the USA. He has claimed 11 wickets from four T20Is played so far. His economy rate is impressive as well.
Ganguly wants no changes in XI
While spin is expected to play a key role, Ganguly does not want India to make a change to the winning combination. He wants India to stick with Rinku Singh and Arshdeep Singh against the temptation to play Kuldeep Yadav.
“Axar (Patel), Varun (Chakravarthy), (Jasprit) Bumrah and Arshdeep (Singh) should be the frontline bowlers. I don’t think Rinku (Singh) should be replaced for Kuldeep (Yadav), because you have to take care of the balance in batting department as well. I feel the same team should be played. India will play well,” the former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president said.
However, India will make at least one change as Abhishek Sharma has recovered from stomach issues. Abhishek was seen practising hitting long sixes in the nets on the eve of the high-voltage clash.
Ganguly rates current Pakistan lineup poorly
Ganguly was asked to rate the current Pakistan lineup. He recalled a few legendary names of his time and said that this Pakistan team doesn’t possess a similar potential.
“The quality of batsmanship like Inzamam (Ul Haq), Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf, Wasim (Akram), Waqar (Younis)… that was a different team. This team is not there anymore,” the 53-year-old opined.
His opinion is backed by Pakistan’s lacklustre run against India of late. In the T20 Asia Cup 2025 clash, they were beaten thrice by India. Their last T20I win over India came in T20 Asia Cup 2022.