'Varun’s googlies a big problem for England': Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly. Pic/AFP

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly feels England's inability to pick mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy's googlies is a big problem for the visitors.

Chakravarthy's 5-24 in the third T20I at Rajkot on Tuesday, ended up being in vain. "They can't pick his googlies. They have no problem facing our leg-spinner, Ravi Bishnoi. So, you can't say that the English batters are incapable of playing spin. They face their own leg-spinner Adil Rashid in the nets.

The only problem is Chakravarthy. He is accurate and changes his pace very intelligently," said Ganguly, himself a fine player of spin bowling. Australia skipper-turned-commentator Ian Chappell often praised Ganguly for his tackling of spin bowling. When Ganguly stepped out of his crease, the ball would be hit for a six most of the time, Chappell felt.

Lavishing praise on Chakravarthy, the former BCCI president, 52, said: "Varun must have worked very hard before this series. His control is tremendous, so is his length."

Meanwhile, Ganguly believes India should not take England lightly despite leading the five-match series 2-1. "They have a good attack, bowl wicket-to-wicket. India will have to play very well to win the series," he concluded. The fifth T20I will be played in Pune tomorrow while Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium will host the fifth and final game on Sunday.