<p>Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said India have the firepower to win the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka next month and termed the West Indies as the dark horses. <br /><br /></p>.<p>“When you have players like Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh it is very difficult to count India out. There is a lot of firepower there,” said the former India captain at a promotional event organised by World T20 broadcaster ESPN Star Sports.<br /><br />Asked about Piyush Chawla and Lakshmipathy Balaji’s selection, Ganguly quipped that Chawla is proving to be a lucky mascot as India won the World Cup with him in the squad.<br /><br />As for Balaji, he said, the Tamil Nadu medium-pacer bowled exceedingly well in Pakistan under his captaincy and that he looked good playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League last season.<br /><br />“India have most things going in their favour. The tournament is happening in the sub-continent and they will be confident after their good show in the one-day series in Sri Lanka. <br /><br />Having said that, the tournament format is short and India are in a tough group,” said Ganguly, adding that it will be difficult to stop India if Sehwag fires at the top. <br />Talking about the other teams, Ganguly said: “The West Indies are a powerhouse. <br /><br />They are very dangerous in the shortest format with the presence of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith and they have pacers who bowl at 150 kmph-plus. In addition, they have a very talented spinner in Sunil Narine.<br /><br />“South Africa are also a good side and are rightly ranked the No 1 Test team. England have the advantage of having a world class spinner in Graeme Swann, though they are bound to miss Kevin Pietersen.”<br /><br />The World T20 runs from Sept 18 to Oct 12. In Harbhajan Singh’s defence, Ganguly said the off-spinner should have been playing in all formats, and should have been drafted into the team a long before. <br /></p>
<p>Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said India have the firepower to win the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka next month and termed the West Indies as the dark horses. <br /><br /></p>.<p>“When you have players like Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh it is very difficult to count India out. There is a lot of firepower there,” said the former India captain at a promotional event organised by World T20 broadcaster ESPN Star Sports.<br /><br />Asked about Piyush Chawla and Lakshmipathy Balaji’s selection, Ganguly quipped that Chawla is proving to be a lucky mascot as India won the World Cup with him in the squad.<br /><br />As for Balaji, he said, the Tamil Nadu medium-pacer bowled exceedingly well in Pakistan under his captaincy and that he looked good playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League last season.<br /><br />“India have most things going in their favour. The tournament is happening in the sub-continent and they will be confident after their good show in the one-day series in Sri Lanka. <br /><br />Having said that, the tournament format is short and India are in a tough group,” said Ganguly, adding that it will be difficult to stop India if Sehwag fires at the top. <br />Talking about the other teams, Ganguly said: “The West Indies are a powerhouse. <br /><br />They are very dangerous in the shortest format with the presence of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith and they have pacers who bowl at 150 kmph-plus. In addition, they have a very talented spinner in Sunil Narine.<br /><br />“South Africa are also a good side and are rightly ranked the No 1 Test team. England have the advantage of having a world class spinner in Graeme Swann, though they are bound to miss Kevin Pietersen.”<br /><br />The World T20 runs from Sept 18 to Oct 12. In Harbhajan Singh’s defence, Ganguly said the off-spinner should have been playing in all formats, and should have been drafted into the team a long before. <br /></p>