Rank Turners not the best option against Proteas: Ganguly

Rank Turners not the best option against Proteas: Ganguly: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels preparing dust bowls against the touring South Africans in the four Test series beginning November 5 could be counter productive and lead India into trouble. A vocal advocate for good cricket pitches, Dada as he is popularly known sees visiting spinner Imran Tahir as a potential threat and gave clear warnings to the hosts of dumping down their plans of preparing square turners.

“Tahir is a quality spinner and he’ll be a threat in Indian conditions. I want India to make sporting wickets and not square turners. If they make a square turner then Tahir will be a matchwinner,” Ganguly told a local TV channel.

The South African selectors have placed special emphasis on their spin bowling resources picking 3 specialist spinners, recalling Tahir and young Dane Piedt to join Simon Harmer, the offie who played in the series against Bangladesh. The Proteas have lost just 2 Test series in the last 9 years, both against Australia at home and are yet to loose an away series since going down to Sri Lanka in 2006. The last time they toured India the visitors drew the Test series after narrowly failing to draw the Kolkata Test.

Ganguly though believes it would not be an easy proposition for the Hashim Amla led side to defeat a rejuvenated Indian side, which has recently won an away series against the Lankans after 22 years.

“It’s a long series and I don’t think India can play badly in all the four Tests. South Africa will really have to do well to beat India. I want a hard wicket which will have bounce and start turning from fourth day. In Indian conditions, a match usually takes shape fourth day onwards when wickets fall in a heap. The key to success for India is to bat well and put 500-plus run on board up front.” the elegant left hander said.

Always one who believed in leading from the front, Ganguly is naturally impressed by Test captain Virat Kohli and his leadership style. “He’s one captain who always looks win, winning is everything for him… At times, his body language may be over aggressive and he may cross the line but I like his mindset. It was an exceptional achievement to win in Sri Lanka. He’s an outstanding batsman, he’s a much needed personality to take Indian cricket forward” he opined.

When asked to compare Kohli’s captaincy to Amla, Dada refrained from drawing conclusions and said more than Amla’s captaincy, his batting will be crucial in these conditions.