Former India captain Sourav Ganguly played down the threat posed by Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq ahead of today’s high-stakes ICC T20 World Cup clash in Colombo.

Ganguly described Tariq as a regular off-spinner whose only quirk was a noticeable pause in his delivery stride, and expressed confidence that Indian batters would manage him comfortably.

“Nothing is difficult,” Ganguly told reporters at a T20 World Cup magazine launch. “He is an off-spinner and he just bowls with a pause. He is an out-and-out off-spinner and India will play him well.”

The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president was clearly unimpressed by buzz around Tariq’s exotic action, which has sparked debate across the cricket world.

Analysts and former players have weighed in on the legality of his action, though the spinner’s action has been cleared by the ICC twice.

Ganguly also reiterated that India remain strong favourites in the match and felt India should go into it with an unchanged XI.

“Axar [Patel], Varun [Chakravarthy], [Jasprit] Bumrah and Arshdeep [Singh] should be the frontline bowlers. I don’t think Rinku [Singh] should be replaced for Kuldeep [Yadav], because you have to take care of the balance in batting department as well. I feel the same team should be played,” he added.