Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly downplayed the concerns over the no.4 position ahead of the Asia Cup and World Cup. Ganguly feels that one position will not make a difference in winning or losing a tournament. The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President wants selectors, head coach, and captain to back one player at the much-talked-about position.
“India has enormous talent. I keep hearing about this...we don’t have this or that but we have too much and that is the problem that we cannot decide.
"The No 4...Rahul (Dravid), selectors and Rohit (Sharma) need to decide that ‘this is my No 4 and I will continue with him,” Ganguly told the media at an event in Mumbai.
Ganguly believes that the no.4 issue has become much bigger than it is. He recalled when Sachin Tendulkar asked him to open the innings. Also, he named three batters who can fill in the role.
“Number four is just a number and anybody can fit in. I started in the middle-order in one-day cricket and went on to open because I was asked to by Sachin (Tendulkar) as captain. It is the same with Sachin.
He batted at six and his captain asked him to open and he became a world-class player. Anybody can play at No 4. There’s Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul,” said Ganguly.
Ganguly backed Rohit Sharma-led India to perform well in the Asia Cup followed by World Cup.
“It’s a solid team, I keep saying that, (but) I keep hearing “yaar solid-solid bolte ho, World Cup jeet ta hi nahi hai, aise thodi World Cup har samay jeetega yaar. (you say it is a solid team but does not win the World Cup. You cannot win the World Cup every time),” the 51-year-old said.
“I am sure they will at least get to the semifinals (of WC). They entered the Test championship final, which itself is an achievement. Once they get there, they’ll cross the bridge.
So, I have a lot of time for this team, a lot of faith in this team, and hopefully from the Asia Cup we will see a side which will go all the way (against) Australia and then the World Cup,” he added.
