Sourav Ganguly wants India to play three spinners in the 2nd T20I at Nagpur

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has urged Virat Kohli to field three spinners in the 2nd T20I against England at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Ganguly wants Amit Mishra to return to the playing XI in place of Ashish Nehra. Given his experience, Kohli might be tempted to go with Mishra in the must-win encounter. He wants Yuzvendra Chahal to bowl with the new ball as he feels it might tempt the English top order batsmen to think differently.

“The only thing that I would do if I was Kohli is drop a fast bowler and play a spinner. Play Hardik Pandya and probably play one other fast bowler, maybe (Jasprit) Bumrah, and give the other fast bowler a break and do something different to England and make the spinners bowl with the new ball. Chahal is different, he bowls flattish so maybe he can start with the new ball and get the England top order batsmen to think differently”, Ganguly was quoted as saying by the India Today.

However, Ganguly conceded that despite being a big ground it’s a high-scoring venue.  “It is a big ground in Nagpur but it is a high scoring ground. The game against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup (earlier this year) was a bit different because I have not seen the pitch turn so much in a T20 game and I don’t see it turning that much this Sunday either. I think India will have to find the right balance as a bowling unit,” the CAB President said.

The last match in Nagpur saw the Kiwis spin brigade demolishing the star-studded Indian batting line-up during the first group encounter in the World Twenty20 in India earlier in 2016. Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum wrecked havoc as the Men in Blue were bundled out for a paltry 76.

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After going down in the series in the opening game at Kanpur, the hosts will look to rectify their mistakes ahead of the must-win encounter and Ganguly’s suggestion of going with three spinners might just work in their favour. We have seen in the Test series how the Indian spinner spun a web around the English batsmen and Kohli might be employing the same tactics in the 2nd T20I at the Jamtha.