Ian Chappell's prediction for the top 4 teams in the Champions Trophy 2017

Before the start of the eight edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, many former cricketers are selecting their favourites to win the ‘mini World Cup’. For Ian Chappell, it is a bit tough to select any one winner among the eight formidable lineups. Hence, he decided not to take the major responsibility on himself, and rather predict the four semi-finalists which seemed an easier task.

Chappell has selected the ‘Big Four’ to make it to the semi-finals – Australia, India, England and South Africa. Australia and India have won two editions of the elite tournament previously. For the Proteas, Champions Trophy is the only major ICC tournament they had won. England has played two Champions Trophy finals. Unfortunately for them, they are yet to win one. Chappell has justified his reason to pick the four big teams in the semis.

Let us have a look at his predictions for all the teams

Australia

In his article for Mid-Day, Chappel wrote: “The Australians are currently embroiled in a divisive pay dispute with their Board but the altercation has only served to unite the players. The sense that this dispute will further galvanise the Australian team was reinforced by skipper Steve Smith, when he indicated that winning the Champions Trophy would help the players in their negotiations with the Board,” he further added.

England

Chappell feels England are peaking perfectly for the tournament. “Ever since hitting rock bottom with an early exit from the 2015 World Cup, England’s fifty over cricket has been on an upward trend. They appear to be peaking perfectly for this tournament but they’ll need to ensure they don’t succumb to stage fright in front of an expectant home audience. England has never won a major fifty over tournament and with their powerful batting line-up and strong pace attack, this is a great opportunity to erase that glitch in their record,” wrote Chappell.

India

Ian says the recently concluded Indian Premier League will help the Indians in the Champions Trophy. He wrote “Kohli’s men have tuned up for this tournament with a glut of T20 games in the IPL. This may turn out to be a good preparation, especially when followed by a couple of 50-over warm-up games to get the mind fully attuned to the longer version. T20 cricket ensures batsmen are looking for runs and of late, bowlers have focused more on taking wickets; the ideal mind-set for both facets of the 50-over game. India doesn’t have the pace of the three other top bowling sides but they do possess a well-balanced attack, capable of taking wickets in any conditions.”

South Africa

Chappell feels South Africa must crush their conservative tactics in order to win the tournament. “South Africa is the fourth powerhouse team and even without the injured Dale Steyn they possess a strong pace attack. They also have the wily leg-spinner Imran Tahir seeking wickets in the middle overs, which is a crucial part of playing 50-over cricket successfully. The South African batting line-up is also powerful but the team are yet to overcome the knock-out stage hoodoo that dogs them in tournaments. Despite assurances from skipper AB de Villiers in the 2015 World Cup that this was a thing of the past, they’ve done nothing to brush the monkey off their backAn ingrained conservatism, especially surrounding their tactics in the field, has hurt South Africa in the past and they need to shed that approach to win this tournament.”