Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has thrown his weight behind the country's spin arsenal, highlighting Varun Chakravarthy as a pivotal figure in India's quest to retain the T20 World Cup title on home soil.
India has assembled a formidable spin quartet, comprising Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar, for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7.
"Yeah, nothing (home WC) gets bigger than that, and India is always my favourite team. They have a strong spin attack and if Chakravarthy is fit then it's good for India,” Ganguly, who coaches Pretoria Capitals in the SA20, said in an interaction with a select media gathering here.
The 53-year-old has embarked on his maiden stint as head coach and expressed enthusiasm for continuing to absorb insights.
"First time ever in my life, head coach. But I am enjoying it. Actually, I am very close to (Delhi Capitals co-owner) Parth (Jindal), so he asked me to do this, so I did it," he added.
"I am also learning. I may have played any number of matches, captained any number of matches, but this is different. I am coaching, and I am doing this to learn and understand," said Ganguly, who also works as the Director of Cricket at Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
Pretoria Capitals beat Paarl Royals by 21 runs at Boland Park, booking their second successive victory and a jump to third place. Ganguly was elated with the result.
"When you play any big tournament, whether it's a World Cup, IPL or SA20, the back-end gets very tight and competitive and that's where you need to be at your best. It's a very important point.
"You know these sort of wins when you defend one side, it actually gives you a lot of confidence. Hopefully we will continue to do that. But in sport, every day is a new day. So we'll pick ourselves up and start fresh the day after tomorrow," he detailed.