Leo Messi attains true G.O.A.T. status

[00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome to a very, very special episode of Sports Weekly. I know we

[00:00:16] say that almost every week, but this one is truly special. Leo Messi has further cemented

[00:00:23] his place among the Pantheons of the great. There was never a doubt about his greatness,

[00:00:27] but by winning the World Cup in Qatar, he's just ensured that he's spoken off in the

[00:00:32] same breath as Diego Maradona, his own countryman and a whole host of others, maybe even

[00:00:37] Pelén. I don't know if that's blasphemous. Joining me as always will be Samuel Aurora,

[00:00:41] RK and Ayaz Mehman as we go through and navigate the world of sport. Before we start here is

[00:00:47] a reminder to subscribe to us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts

[00:00:52] or just download the Binge Pods app and start listening to us there.

[00:01:02] Before we get into the details of it, how many of us had called Argentina at the start

[00:01:07] of the tournament? I mean, we've been talking about this for a while, but I think

[00:01:11] there was only one, right? I fell flat on my face. I picked England and well, it's a

[00:01:14] mistake. I know I'll do again. RK, what was your pick?

[00:01:17] Mine was Netherlands. Look, I mean, let's be honest about it. A huge thumbs up to

[00:01:21] Samuel. Well done to him. So he spoke about how deep the squad is and how his Coloni

[00:01:27] has brought the squad together and the winning run that he spoke about stood with Argentina

[00:01:32] even after that defeat against Saudi Arabia when the qualifications, I mean the qualification

[00:01:37] to the next stage of the tournament was really in doubt. So well done to be honest,

[00:01:40] Samuel. But having said that, I'll tell you still, Samuel Netherlands could have done

[00:01:44] the job. They almost came close. So I still think I backed a decent horse.

[00:01:49] Coulda shoulda woulda. Well, that's how it goes. Over to you, Samuel.

[00:01:53] Take a deep breath in and relax as it all calmed down. I doubt it has. I doubt

[00:02:00] it has because this quite literally, I think can only be described as one of the greatest

[00:02:04] football games in history. Where else would you see such drama apart from life

[00:02:10] sport when Argentina went to nail up? You could just see the energy with which they

[00:02:15] were playing like a bunch of terriers running around really quite cat and

[00:02:19] France looked hapless, but that's the beauty of life sport. You can never

[00:02:23] count anybody out and come at the hour, come at the man because killing him

[00:02:27] Bapé really turned that came around and he may look like the person who

[00:02:32] completely engineered the turn around, but you've also got to give a word to Kingsley

[00:02:37] Coman who brought up all the energy and was critical to that second go that

[00:02:41] France scored eventually. But today let's start off with France because we should

[00:02:46] give a word to them right after the performance that they've done.

[00:02:49] You cannot neglect it. Sure, the focus will always be on Messi and we

[00:02:53] should get to him in a second. But this was sporting spirit at its finest.

[00:02:56] When you tune down on a World Cup final, when you look dejected,

[00:03:00] when you look lost, how do you come back in and get yourself back in the game

[00:03:04] and take it to the end of extra time to penalties? Kingsley Coman, M. Killian

[00:03:09] Mbappe, Kola Mouane, these players were just absolutely critical and this is

[00:03:15] what football is all about. This is what life sport is all about.

[00:03:17] This is where you've got to dig down deep and get the best out of

[00:03:19] yourself and that was exactly what made this game that much better.

[00:03:25] And you've got a feel for Killian Mbappe. Scoring a World Cup hat trick,

[00:03:29] World Cup final hat trick, the first time in ages, first time in forever actually.

[00:03:34] I think since Sir Jeff Hurst in 1966, that's something that just happened

[00:03:38] and still you end up losing the final. How do you console a 23-year-old man

[00:03:42] after something like that? Yes, he is a 23-year-old World Cup winner

[00:03:45] nonetheless. He's a 23-year-old who's earning multi-million dollars every

[00:03:49] single year. Yes. But still, it's only a 23-year-old.

[00:03:53] This is going to hurt hard. But what a team performance by France at the end

[00:03:56] of the day. Once we saw the likes of Camaringo also come in, they completely

[00:04:00] transformed the game and the sporting spirit that we all look for was present.

[00:04:04] But to the winners, to Argentina, it's enough to make millions of grown people

[00:04:12] cry. The story of Messi finally getting complete.

[00:04:16] But this is not just about Messi. Think about that country.

[00:04:19] Think about what they've been through over the years.

[00:04:21] Think about what football represents to them.

[00:04:23] If you've seen the videos of Buenos Aires after the World Cup win, you know

[00:04:27] exactly what I'm talking about. Hundreds of thousands of people on the

[00:04:31] street celebrating it like it was their win because it was their win.

[00:04:35] This is what sport does to you. And I know the headlines will always be

[00:04:39] about Messi and for sure we should get to him in a second.

[00:04:41] But the likes of Rodrigo de Paul, the likes of Enzo Fernandez,

[00:04:45] likes of Angel de Maria, the likes of Julian Fernandez.

[00:04:48] And let's not forget, in the penalty shootout, Emiliano Martinez,

[00:04:52] the golden glove winner of this tournament who should,

[00:04:55] good and maybe would have been the player of the tournament had

[00:04:58] there not been a more greater emotional story with Messi around.

[00:05:01] These players really created that squad and constructed something beautiful.

[00:05:06] As I said in the preview, it was like they played for Messi.

[00:05:09] And I love what Alan Smith said on the commentary.

[00:05:12] He said every single player is going for an eight or 10 performance.

[00:05:16] And that is what wins you a World Cup final.

[00:05:18] But this was the perfect game of football even after that.

[00:05:22] At the 80th minute, they looked over and done with remarkably.

[00:05:26] It ran over France. Maybe they could have been three phone up,

[00:05:29] but nobody cares about those mischances.

[00:05:31] What we care about is the human emotion and the way it returned

[00:05:35] and the way they were able to gather themselves back in the extra time.

[00:05:39] That was what football is all about and the calmness

[00:05:42] with which they executed the penalty shootout, especially Emiliano Martinez.

[00:05:46] For me, that makes him the player of the tournament.

[00:05:48] Every single time you can depend on that goalkeeper.

[00:05:52] And yes, for sure, he might look cocky.

[00:05:54] He might look arrogant.

[00:05:55] He might have that stupid celebration, but he gets the job done.

[00:05:59] And he was able to soak up so much pressure for one man.

[00:06:03] For little Messi at last.

[00:06:06] What can we say?

[00:06:07] It's the perfect career, isn't it?

[00:06:09] He's played over a thousand games.

[00:06:10] He scored over 750 goals.

[00:06:13] He's got hundreds and hundreds of assists in the meantime.

[00:06:16] He's won everything that there is to win.

[00:06:19] So far barring that one little trophy and it now feels complete.

[00:06:23] Let's not go down that greatest of all time discussion.

[00:06:25] I think this is not the moment for it.

[00:06:27] What we should do is sit down and appreciate

[00:06:30] that we're getting to see magic on a football field

[00:06:33] and come at the arc, come at the main men,

[00:06:35] Mbappe and Messi delivering.

[00:06:37] As I mentioned earlier, cannot console Mbappe, but for Messi,

[00:06:40] I wouldn't say the end, but a fairy tale way to call it off.

[00:06:44] He said he wants to play for Argentina even more

[00:06:47] with that World Cup winners badge.

[00:06:48] And he's absolutely earned it.

[00:06:51] This is a perfect career.

[00:06:52] Well, how else can you call it?

[00:06:53] He's won La Liga.

[00:06:54] He's won the UCL, the Super Cup, the French title as well.

[00:06:58] The French Cup, the World Cup, the Copa America.

[00:07:03] Wow, this feels like a legend finally coming up to end.

[00:07:05] It was always meant to be.

[00:07:06] It was always meant to be.

[00:07:08] Sure, you can look at the penalties.

[00:07:09] You can look at the decisions and maybe bat an eyelid

[00:07:11] at that about the inconsistency in the decision making.

[00:07:14] And yes, that did eventually happen.

[00:07:15] But I don't think France could feel hard done by

[00:07:17] eventually because they fought their way back in.

[00:07:19] They made their luck.

[00:07:20] They worked hard for it.

[00:07:22] And it was 3-3 at the end.

[00:07:23] So I think it really evened out what mattered

[00:07:26] was the pressure moment.

[00:07:27] And let's not forget, for someone like Tusha Manny,

[00:07:30] this may be a hard moment for someone so young

[00:07:32] to miss a penalty, but let's not stone them verbally.

[00:07:36] It's a tough thing and it takes courage

[00:07:38] to get up there and take part in a penalty shootout.

[00:07:40] But what I really have to say is

[00:07:42] it's a brave thing to be a part of a World Cup final.

[00:07:45] The French players will know that.

[00:07:46] They'll learn.

[00:07:47] But how do you console them, Bapri?

[00:07:49] At the end of the day though,

[00:07:50] a fairy tale is complete, Argentine art champions.

[00:07:53] It's like it was always meant to be.

[00:07:55] It's like it was the perfect game of football, wasn't it?

[00:07:57] Did you catch the whole game?

[00:07:59] Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

[00:08:01] Just a stunning game of football.

[00:08:03] I mean, to be honest, the first half,

[00:08:05] I was like, what is happening really?

[00:08:07] I mean, France was never in the game.

[00:08:09] They looked extremely lazy, probably the effect

[00:08:11] of the virus that people are talking about

[00:08:13] and all sorts of things that were just going

[00:08:14] through my mind and then up until the 80th minute,

[00:08:17] there was absolutely nothing in the game.

[00:08:18] So much so that I think Argentina

[00:08:20] took the foot off the accelerator.

[00:08:22] They just started to play defensively,

[00:08:24] tried to hold the ball and all of a sudden

[00:08:27] a couple of goals and it then came to light

[00:08:29] and here we are sitting and talking about this

[00:08:31] being probably one of the greatest ever games

[00:08:33] in the history of football.

[00:08:35] Absolutely, I mean, Argentina almost threw it away.

[00:08:37] This is the second time they'd let a two zero lead go.

[00:08:41] The last time they did this was against the Netherlands

[00:08:43] but this had it not turned out the way it finally did

[00:08:47] would have been fairly, really devastating for them.

[00:08:50] Ayaz, what do you think?

[00:08:51] I think you were one of the few early on

[00:08:53] maybe a couple of weeks ago when we were on the show

[00:08:56] to say that it's either Argentina or Brazil.

[00:08:58] I think you leaned in towards Brazil more.

[00:09:00] Remind me?

[00:09:01] I was leaning heavily towards Brazil

[00:09:03] and then this match started

[00:09:05] or just before the match started

[00:09:06] this final between Argentina and France

[00:09:08] I chose to sit on the fence

[00:09:09] because it was a really good matchup.

[00:09:11] I remember I got a tweet from Derek O'Brien

[00:09:13] the TMC politician from Bengal

[00:09:15] who was obviously a very avid football fan

[00:09:18] and he said, France is called the first goal

[00:09:21] and they'll win the final.

[00:09:21] I said, Derek, I'm choosing to sit on the fence

[00:09:23] in this one because it just seems to be so evenly matched.

[00:09:27] Well, that brings to an end at fantastic World Cup.

[00:09:30] I think what I would argue

[00:09:31] that despite everything that went on before the World Cup

[00:09:34] this was probably one of the more enjoyable ones

[00:09:37] lots of upsets.

[00:09:38] I think the most number of goals ever scored

[00:09:40] at a FIFA World Cup

[00:09:42] and a truckload more of records

[00:09:44] looking forward to the next one.

[00:09:52] But while that happened, the world kept turning

[00:09:54] cricket is back

[00:09:55] and when I say with the world kept turning

[00:09:57] Australia continued its dominance at the Gabba

[00:10:00] after that little blip from about a year ago in India

[00:10:03] finally beat them at the Gabba.

[00:10:06] RK, the two-day test

[00:10:08] I think everyone says the beauty of cricket, isn't it?

[00:10:11] When it happens outside India

[00:10:12] but in India it's just shameful wickets

[00:10:13] and I know there's a lot of debate going on around this

[00:10:17] I just thought this was a ridiculous waste of time

[00:10:19] you might as well have played a couple of T20s

[00:10:21] I'm with you on this

[00:10:22] I think there are different words that are used

[00:10:25] when we play cricket at different parts of the world

[00:10:27] if it's Australia, if it's the Gabba

[00:10:30] we say it's challenging conditions

[00:10:32] if it had been in Ahmedabad on a turning track

[00:10:35] people would have called it dust balls

[00:10:37] outrages, very poor pitch

[00:10:39] I just want to look at the ratings

[00:10:41] that the ICC gives for this particular track to be honest

[00:10:44] look, I think even the likes of Dean Elgar kind of smiled

[00:10:47] when we spoke about sporting wickets within courts

[00:10:50] look, I'm all for great competition

[00:10:52] between the bat and the ball, I'm all for it

[00:10:54] but I do not understand how it becomes competition

[00:10:58] only when it's a seeming track

[00:10:59] and it doesn't become a competition

[00:11:01] when it tends to turn a bit more than usual

[00:11:05] so that's my only question always

[00:11:07] look, I mean yes

[00:11:08] ideally you would want a great test match

[00:11:11] yes it was great bit of fast bowling

[00:11:13] the ball moved a lot

[00:11:14] there was a bit of a resistance from the South Africans

[00:11:16] as well especially in that first innings

[00:11:18] after being down four wickets

[00:11:20] but honestly, if I'm strictly going by the pitch

[00:11:23] what's wrong in dishing out turning tracks in Ahmedabad

[00:11:26] when I look at such pitches at the Gabba

[00:11:28] I'm completely with you

[00:11:30] real double standards according

[00:11:31] Yeah and just to talk about the match itself

[00:11:34] the Australian batsmen themselves struggled big time

[00:11:38] barely a leader of 50 runs in the first innings

[00:11:40] and to chase down 35 they lost four wickets

[00:11:44] Ayaz have you seen a worse pitch?

[00:11:49] I mean there have been occasions

[00:11:50] when teams have been bowled out for 42 and 36

[00:11:53] so I mean it's not just the score

[00:11:55] you know the poultry score is one aspect

[00:11:56] the other is as R.T. mentioned

[00:11:58] that you know what is good for the goal

[00:12:01] should also be good for the gander isn't it

[00:12:02] I mean Australians also have come to India

[00:12:05] and complained and cribbed about pitches

[00:12:06] that they've got here

[00:12:08] but when teams tour Australia or England for that matter

[00:12:10] or some of the other countries who kind of make it a point

[00:12:12] to you know raise the red flag whenever there is an element

[00:12:17] of uncertainty about the pitch elsewhere

[00:12:20] but not in their own countries

[00:12:21] I think that sham needs to end

[00:12:23] and I am also as keen as R.K. is to find out

[00:12:25] how the ICC rates this Gabba pitch

[00:12:28] look at the end of the day

[00:12:29] one must also accept that this is a very

[00:12:32] batting impoverished South African team

[00:12:34] they just don't have high quality batsmen

[00:12:36] or even quality batsmen in numbers

[00:12:37] not even two or three of them

[00:12:39] you know they take away a D and L go

[00:12:41] or you know maybe one or two others

[00:12:43] I don't think they have batting heft at all

[00:12:45] they've got bowling heft

[00:12:46] and which is such a shame

[00:12:47] because it could be a very competitive series

[00:12:49] just a reminder that Australia are number one

[00:12:51] in the World Test Championship ranking

[00:12:53] in South Africa were number two

[00:12:54] or still are you know

[00:12:55] so if we had a competitive match

[00:12:57] maybe an upset the whole drama around the WTC

[00:13:00] it would have become so much more exciting and fascinating

[00:13:03] but that looks now not to be

[00:13:05] because I can't see the South African team

[00:13:07] beating Australia and Australia

[00:13:09] with the kind of batting resources they have

[00:13:10] I mean Australia have to play diabolically badly

[00:13:14] to lose to this South African team

[00:13:16] much as I would you know

[00:13:17] I think that South Africa had some fantastic bowlers

[00:13:21] Rabada being one of them

[00:13:22] Norka also Hansen

[00:13:25] looks like it's going to be a no contest

[00:13:26] between South Africa and Australia

[00:13:28] which is a pity because Test cricket

[00:13:30] everybody claims all over the world

[00:13:32] whether it is the big players

[00:13:33] or the ICC or the respective cricket boards

[00:13:36] how much they want to support and sucker Test cricket

[00:13:39] but if you have pitches like these

[00:13:41] or what we got at the GABA

[00:13:42] it's unlikely that

[00:13:43] you know we have a two day match

[00:13:45] it becomes farcical

[00:13:46] you know it's not Test cricket at all

[00:13:47] and if the pitch is really the reason

[00:13:50] and not to absolve South Africa's problem with their batting

[00:13:53] it's just that as it emerges to me

[00:13:56] the talent pool is very shallow

[00:13:58] especially in the batting

[00:13:59] to look for players

[00:14:00] to replace guys of the caliber of an AB de Villiers

[00:14:03] or a Hashim Amla or a Graham Smith

[00:14:05] or you leave aside the Jagg Kallis

[00:14:08] is not an overnight job

[00:14:09] it means that you know your systems

[00:14:11] this infrastructure there

[00:14:13] the grass roots level development

[00:14:15] and across various age groups has to be

[00:14:18] you know 15-20 years in the making

[00:14:20] really solidly worked on

[00:14:21] only then can you get those kind of players

[00:14:24] Arkej is coming back to you here

[00:14:26] for a second

[00:14:27] looking at the Australian team composition

[00:14:29] just the top order

[00:14:30] their batting seems to be struggling

[00:14:32] do you see David Warner

[00:14:33] continuing in the boxing day test match?

[00:14:36] I mean look it's going to be a difficult decision

[00:14:39] in the sense that I think

[00:14:42] when I look at David Warner

[00:14:43] yes he hasn't been doing all right

[00:14:45] I completely buy that

[00:14:47] but I'm also thinking if

[00:14:50] the way he has approached it

[00:14:52] in the very recent past

[00:14:53] has got something to do with

[00:14:54] what has happened off the field

[00:14:56] look I think at some level

[00:14:57] he was probably hoping

[00:14:59] that he'll be the captain

[00:15:00] of the Australian cricket team

[00:15:01] in some format or the other

[00:15:03] then there was this whole aspect

[00:15:04] of him coming out in the open

[00:15:06] and saying that

[00:15:07] he almost suggested

[00:15:08] that it was a bit of a sham

[00:15:10] the way things happened

[00:15:11] and he did not want to pursue it

[00:15:13] any further because he felt that

[00:15:15] certain sections were dragging

[00:15:16] his family into it

[00:15:17] and therefore he just

[00:15:19] completely moved on

[00:15:21] from his hopes of

[00:15:22] ever being an Australian captain

[00:15:23] because he didn't think

[00:15:25] or according to him

[00:15:26] he didn't think that he was getting

[00:15:28] a fair deal in the review

[00:15:30] so I wonder if that is playing

[00:15:32] a heavy part

[00:15:33] in the way he is at the moment

[00:15:36] as an individual

[00:15:36] I know everybody moves on

[00:15:38] I know it's been a while

[00:15:39] since we've had the sandpaper gear

[00:15:41] I think he's paid the penalty all right

[00:15:43] but just as he was thinking

[00:15:44] that he could be the captain

[00:15:46] at some point in time

[00:15:47] of the Australian cricket team

[00:15:48] I think it's all done and dusted

[00:15:50] Australian cricket seemingly

[00:15:51] has moved on

[00:15:52] I wonder if that is

[00:15:53] one reason

[00:15:54] and coming back to your particular question

[00:15:57] there are even doubts about

[00:15:58] whether he'll be a part of the tour to India

[00:16:00] given the kind of form

[00:16:01] that probably the lack of form that he is in

[00:16:03] so I think at some level

[00:16:05] probably even for David Warner

[00:16:07] it's not a bad thing

[00:16:08] to have a bit of a break

[00:16:10] who knows he can be back here

[00:16:11] for the IPL

[00:16:12] look I mean all said and done

[00:16:13] he can be here as a part of the testing

[00:16:15] I'm not the selector

[00:16:16] but he can be here for the IPL

[00:16:18] completely different format

[00:16:19] different environment

[00:16:20] just let him lose

[00:16:22] for Delhi Capitals

[00:16:23] that's probably one way I'm looking at it

[00:16:24] the whole situation

[00:16:26] well let's hope that something works out for him

[00:16:29] moving on to the India versus Bangladesh series

[00:16:33] I think that was a pretty decent test match

[00:16:35] you know

[00:16:35] Bangladesh not usually known to cover themselves in glory

[00:16:39] in a lot of these situations

[00:16:41] and to be honest

[00:16:42] they let India off the hook

[00:16:43] a couple of times

[00:16:44] and their own batting

[00:16:46] was well

[00:16:47] a usual implosion if you ask me

[00:16:48] but they did put up a bit of a fight

[00:16:50] it wasn't really the worst test match

[00:16:51] I've seen in a very long time

[00:16:53] Ayaz

[00:16:54] do you think Bangladesh

[00:16:56] can and should do more

[00:16:57] they seem to have found a new star

[00:16:59] with a debut Centurion now

[00:17:01] yeah I mean look

[00:17:02] Zakeer Hassan looked a very high quality player

[00:17:04] he's a youngster

[00:17:05] you know

[00:17:05] Centurion debut against India

[00:17:07] is a big deal

[00:17:08] but you know how he progresses from here

[00:17:10] will actually perhaps also define

[00:17:12] how Bangladesh

[00:17:13] emerged from what I think is a batting crisis

[00:17:15] they've got

[00:17:16] they don't seem to have high quality batsmen

[00:17:18] Mushfikur Raheem is there

[00:17:20] Sarki Bull Hassan

[00:17:21] Likran Das

[00:17:22] these are the big guy

[00:17:23] but they've been around for 10-12 years

[00:17:25] Sarki may be even longer

[00:17:26] but the consistency

[00:17:28] which you would expect from them

[00:17:29] is not coming any longer

[00:17:31] and I think that's a big crisis

[00:17:32] for Bangladesh cricket

[00:17:34] they've got a you know

[00:17:35] Mehdi Hassan Miraz

[00:17:37] who's a very talented all-rounder

[00:17:39] and he could also become a fine test player

[00:17:41] so for them

[00:17:43] it's not looking extremely rosy

[00:17:44] barring Zakeer Hassan and Mehdi

[00:17:46] they don't seem to have

[00:17:47] very good fast bowlers

[00:17:49] they don't seem to have

[00:17:49] in the in the past

[00:17:50] they had these on their pitches

[00:17:53] you would get guys like Sarki

[00:17:54] running through a proposing team zero

[00:17:56] so that's not happening any longer

[00:17:58] they had some decent batting

[00:18:00] Sarki himself made some 80 something in the second innings

[00:18:03] they fought

[00:18:04] or they resisted India for a while

[00:18:06] in the second inning

[00:18:07] but you know

[00:18:08] to score 512 was something to win

[00:18:10] was never likely

[00:18:11] and to bat out two days

[00:18:13] was also unlikely

[00:18:15] against an Indian attack

[00:18:16] which despite Bumrah

[00:18:18] and Shammi

[00:18:18] and some and Jadeja missing

[00:18:20] had enough firepower

[00:18:22] so I think more gains for India

[00:18:24] from this match

[00:18:25] Kuldi Piyadav coming into his own

[00:18:27] picking up his best ever test match figures

[00:18:29] was a big deal

[00:18:30] I thought Muhammad Siraj was very impressive

[00:18:32] in the first innings

[00:18:33] Akshar Patel on these kind of pitches

[00:18:35] which you know

[00:18:35] which Bangladesh may have thought

[00:18:37] would favor lay bowlers

[00:18:38] he can be a devastating bowler

[00:18:39] and he helped India on the last day

[00:18:42] to clinch victory really enough

[00:18:44] Agay the just looking ahead a little bit

[00:18:46] we have Australia

[00:18:47] visiting very soon

[00:18:49] and this is a team that seems decent on paper

[00:18:53] but like I just mentioned

[00:18:55] Shammi, Bumrah, Jadeja may be ready to come back

[00:18:59] who loses their spot

[00:19:00] Is Ashwin safe?

[00:19:01] Is Kuldipe safe?

[00:19:02] Is Akshar safe?

[00:19:03] Ashwin should be safe in India

[00:19:05] I think he's a match winner

[00:19:06] look I mean

[00:19:07] obviously things didn't go according to plan

[00:19:09] in Bangladesh

[00:19:10] I know a lot of people

[00:19:11] even on Twitter

[00:19:11] have been talking about the line

[00:19:13] the lengths

[00:19:14] and whatnot and stuff

[00:19:15] look I mean give him a break

[00:19:16] at the end of the day

[00:19:17] I think the biggest plus for India

[00:19:18] is Kuldipe's performance

[00:19:19] I think sometimes

[00:19:20] when we look at somebody's performance

[00:19:22] it's almost at the expense of somebody else

[00:19:26] not performing up to the mark

[00:19:27] let's be honest

[00:19:28] I think

[00:19:29] I mean if I were to look at it that way

[00:19:30] I think Ashwin's performance with the back

[00:19:32] really helped

[00:19:33] I mean a team India in the test match

[00:19:35] so it really depends on the way you look at it

[00:19:37] I know he's there primarily as a bowler

[00:19:39] but I think Ashwin is fantastic

[00:19:42] there is no two ways about it

[00:19:43] one of the biggest match winners

[00:19:44] an Indian test cricketer's ever had probably

[00:19:47] and you look at also his contributions with the back

[00:19:49] but I think just going back to the point of

[00:19:52] Jaspreet Bumrah

[00:19:53] going back to the point of Ravindra Jadija

[00:19:55] look these two are people who are coming

[00:19:57] at the back of an injury

[00:19:58] Jadija was supposed to have been a part of this team

[00:20:01] in Bangladesh

[00:20:02] but obviously

[00:20:03] he's not deemed fit enough to play in the test match

[00:20:06] Bumrah is again coming at the back of an injury

[00:20:09] so we'll be curious to see how he goes

[00:20:11] because test match rigor

[00:20:12] is a completely different ball game altogether

[00:20:15] so are you willing to go in with two players

[00:20:18] who are just coming at the back of an injury

[00:20:20] unless you are absolutely 100%

[00:20:23] not to show how you're going to look at that

[00:20:25] but particularly with respect to Ashwin

[00:20:27] I don't see a reason why he should be dropped in India

[00:20:30] got it

[00:20:31] well that's some interesting stuff coming up

[00:20:33] lots more cricket and lots more sporting action

[00:20:36] thank you gentlemen for your time

[00:20:37] we will definitely be back to talk more

[00:20:40] about some of the other sporting action

[00:20:42] for all of our fans around the world with the World Cup

[00:20:44] now coming to a close

[00:20:46] a lot of the club action returns

[00:20:47] starting with the Premier League at the end of this week itself

[00:20:50] so

[00:20:51] foes will turn friends again possibly

[00:20:53] it'll be very interesting to see how things are at PSG

[00:20:57] after this weekend

[00:20:58] but exciting times again

[00:21:00] some of these guys who fought alongside each other

[00:21:02] for the biggest prize in the world

[00:21:04] are now going to face each other

[00:21:06] on the other sides of the pitch

[00:21:08] well thank you so much as always for joining us

[00:21:10] we'll be back with another episode

[00:21:12] next week

[00:21:13] cheers