ICC Champions Trophy 2017: India must solve the No. 4 issue, says Sourav Ganguly

What’s the story?

June 4 will witness the beginning of India’s much awaited ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign against Pakistan and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is concerned about the No.4 spot in the batting line-up.

The 44-year-old believes that Australia, South Africa and England stand alongside India as the major contenders for the title. While he feels that the team is in great shape, but he is a tad concerned about the No. 4 spot in the batting line-up.

“India will have to solve the No. 4 issue. Yuvraj Singh has been unwell and his getting a hit in the middle versus Bangladesh was important for the team. Nonetheless, he will have to make up with lots of time at the nets before they start their first game against Pakistan, in Birmingham on Sunday,” he said.

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In case you didn’t know...

Prior to the commencement of the tournament, India won both their warm-up games against New Zealand and Bangladesh. However, Yuvraj Singh was down with viral fever during the two games and hence did not come out to play while Dinesh Karthik scored an unbeaten 94.

The heart of the matter

With Yuvraj being unwell and Dinesh Karthik performing in the second warm-up game, the No. 4 spot is still up in the air. Ganguly added that batting will be key for India, as will captain Virat Kohli’s form and hoped that the No.4 issue is solved before India kickstart their Champions Trophy against arch-rivals, Pakistan.

The 44-year-old feels the team is in supreme form with both batting and bowling department dominating the opposition. He added that the five bowlers have been terrific and what’s wonderful to see is that there are no signs of tiredness or fatigue amongst any of them post the long season back at home. He further said that he is excited to be a part of the Champions Trophy, albeit as a commentator and firmly believes that the next couple of weeks we are going to see some action-packed cricket.

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What’s next?

India belongs to group B where they will face Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka in the league stages and have to win at least two games to propel themselves into the semi-finals. India’s first game is against Pakistan on June 4^th.

Author’s Take

While it is essential to select the right combination, picking the playing XI is quite a task this time with all players in good form. The only concern is No.4 spot. which is in a ‘fill in the blank’ position. However, there are plenty of quality contenders for the spot and the selection for the same should depend on the conditions and the opposition.