Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who was speculated to replace Gautam Gambhir as the Indian Test team coach, has kept his faith in the Indian spinners, especially Varun Chakravarthy, as India prepare to defend the title on home soil.
Undoubtedly, Jasprit Bumrah was the star of the Indian team and one of their highlights, helping India win the title in the United States and the Caribbean in 2024. But unlike those circumstances, Bumrah will not get much help on his home grounds in India.
Jasprit Bumrah has been a regular in India’s T20I team, but the two men who have been absolute box office successes for India since their last win in the T20 World Cup are spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. Both have been extremely successful and have taken the most wickets for India in 2025.
Sourav Ganguly has confidence in Indian spinner to save T20 World Cup title
India will not only host the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 along with Sri Lanka, but will also be the proud defending champions of the competition. To take advantage of the home conditions, the hosts have selected a group of quality spinners.
There are four players in the Indian team, which include Varun Chakraborty, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Ahead of this important event, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly believes that spinners will play a key role for India to defend the title.
“Yes, nothing (home World Cup) can be bigger than this, and India is always my favorite team. They have a strong spin attack, and if Chakravarthy is fit, it is good for India,” Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI while interacting with a select media gathering.
Sourav Ganguly happy to start coaching career in SA20
The 53-year-old former Indian captain has held several administrative roles in the game of cricket after his retirement; However, he had never coached a team from the front line until he took on the head coach role for the first time in his career with Pretoria Capitals in the SA20.
“For the first time in my life, a head coach. But I am enjoying it. In fact, I am very close to (Delhi Capitals co-owner) Parth (Jindal), so he asked me to do it, so I did it.
“I am also learning. No matter how many matches I have played and how many matches I have captained, this is different. I am coaching and doing this to learn and understand,” said Sourav Ganguly, who is also attached as the director of cricket for IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.
Sourav Ganguly reflects on his old love with South Africa
Lastly, he also reflected on how happy he was to begin his coaching activities in South Africa, a country that is filled with so much love and affection for the game of cricket. Ganguly has revealed that even during his playing career, he made several unfortunate trips to South Africa.
“It’s been a great place for us. I’ve been here a couple of times, the World Cup final in 2003. We lost, but we were exceptional in the tournament. South Africa is a place for cricket. You can see how good the tournament is.
He said, “The stands are full, even on weekdays, people come and watch. Whether it’s Cape Town, whether it’s Pretoria, whether it’s Paarl because it’s a cricket country, it’s been a great tournament.”
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