Kolkata, Sri Lanka's spin sensation Ajantha Mendis would pose a threat to the Indian batsmen in the forthcoming Test series in the island nation, former captain Sourav Ganguly said here Thursday.

"He is a good bowler. He will be a threat. He single-handedly won the final for Sri Lanka in the Asian Cup," Ganguly told reporters.

The 23-year-old Mendis created a tournament record by returning figures of 6/13 in Sunday's Asia Cup final to guide Sri Lanka to a 100-run victory over India.

However, Ganguly said the Indian batsmen would be able to read the unorthodox slow bowler well as they continue to play him.

"He has a lot of variation. As you play any other good bowler, you have to play him off his hand. Once we play him lot more, we will pick on him. And from what I have seen of him, I can say that as a leg spinner he doesn't turn the ball much. In the final he foxed our batsmen with variation of pace," he said.

Mendis is also a part of the Ganguly-led Kolkata Knight Riders team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the left hander seemed happy about it.

"It's good that he will play for us. But everything will depend on his availability, considering Sri Lanka's tour to England which clashes with the second edition of the IPL," he added.

EMAIL THIS NEWS COMMENTS POSTED BY Sujoy Ghosh on July 11, 2008, 10:13 pm
Apart from CAB things that are happening against Dada and BBCI policy of asking him to rest... its nice to see him active. Its pathetic not to see him on field in Asia Cup. He can easily put many batsmen to shame on anyday. I kno that catches win matches... but you need to put score on board too. runs saved would never increase your score...