IPL 2024 Sixth Week Review: KKR top as India T20 World Cup squad announced

[00:00:01] Cricket Podcast.

[00:00:02] Hello and welcome to this week's episode of The Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast.

[00:00:13] I'm your host Ashwin.

[00:00:14] I'm joined by DJ.

[00:00:15] DJ, it's been a big week in the world of cricket.

[00:00:19] It feels like it was forever ago, but India has announced their T20 squad or their squad

[00:00:24] for the T20 World Cup and we have not yet had a chance to talk about it.

[00:00:27] And then it's been actually weirdly a little bit of a quiet week in the IPL.

[00:00:31] We went through a week of 250 plus scores happening like they were the new normal

[00:00:35] and then we had a bunch of matches back to back where there were 160s, 150s, in some

[00:00:39] cases being defended.

[00:00:41] So let me ask you, how did you feel about this week of the IPL overall?

[00:00:45] So this week Delhi didn't really play so I wasn't really very invested.

[00:00:49] One game, one loss and then it was done.

[00:00:52] Yeah, I have to say the big news as you say is the India T20 World Cup squad and

[00:00:57] we're going to get into all of that.

[00:00:59] There've been some interesting memes flying around, some interesting emissions.

[00:01:03] So yeah, can't wait to talk to you about all of that stuff.

[00:01:06] Yeah, and so just before we get into the squad because I'm very cognizant after four,

[00:01:11] five, six years of being on the show that that will take up most of our time discussing it.

[00:01:15] Let's run through really quickly what's going on in the IPL points table and some

[00:01:18] of the headlines of what happened this week.

[00:01:21] It does feel if you start to look at the points table like you're starting

[00:01:24] to see the top two basically cement their positions and a week ago it was basically

[00:01:31] Rajasthan and KKR since we last spoke DJ has won three out of three and has leap

[00:01:36] rocked their way to the top.

[00:01:37] Now they've played one extra game over at Rajasthan, but pretty safe to say at

[00:01:41] the top you got KKR and Rajasthan with 16 points with three and four games in hand.

[00:01:46] Pretty safe right short of something absolutely drastic.

[00:01:49] Pretty safe to say they're going to qualify.

[00:01:51] Yeah, in a way it's good that the top two are pulling away a little bit which

[00:01:55] opens up the third and fourth spot in a very interesting kind of dogfight to the end of

[00:02:01] the IPL league stage where any of four teams could qualify.

[00:02:06] They're all sitting on about 12 or 10 points including surprisingly the Delhi team that

[00:02:11] Baran predicted would finish guaranteed last.

[00:02:13] So yeah, so your top two are basically and again let me just quickly without

[00:02:19] because we're not going to have time this week to go through game by game.

[00:02:22] KKR three matches three wins.

[00:02:24] How is Sunil Narayan batting like it's 2014 and bowling like it's 2012?

[00:02:31] It feels like he's found both his best batting form and some off maybe not quite his best,

[00:02:35] but some of his best bowling form at the same time.

[00:02:37] And that has really been the game changer for them right this season.

[00:02:41] Yeah, I mean Narayan has been absolutely incredible.

[00:02:44] He's put out an actual statement saying that he's not coming back into the West Indies

[00:02:50] fold, which I think Robman Powell who's now the T20 captain was trying to say that he's

[00:02:55] been speaking to Narayan every day to try and convince him.

[00:02:57] So he shut the door on that speculation, but preseason, I mean he had a terrible

[00:03:02] kind of last two three seasons with the bat.

[00:03:04] He went down the order again, but every game he's just come out swung missed and

[00:03:11] he's connected more often than not his batting has been brilliant.

[00:03:14] His bowling action, which had been under scrutiny seems to have worked this season as well.

[00:03:21] I don't know whether I saw someone talking about his bowling action.

[00:03:24] Maybe Ashwin was talking about bowling action.

[00:03:26] Maybe that was fake news.

[00:03:27] I don't know.

[00:03:28] I mean, I believe he was, but I didn't actually watch the clip.

[00:03:30] I've only seen it all over social media, but all but Ashwin basically refused to talk

[00:03:34] about it and in not engaging was making his own kind of statement.

[00:03:38] You just crack a beer.

[00:03:39] That sounds great.

[00:03:40] Like a great way to spend your

[00:03:41] It's a sparkling water man.

[00:03:44] It was nice and loud and clear.

[00:03:46] The crack of the can was nice and crisp.

[00:03:49] I appreciate that you didn't even go on mute to do that.

[00:03:51] But yeah, I think Ash talked about it, but I don't have all the specifics,

[00:03:55] but it seems like there's something a little contingent.

[00:03:57] Ash, by the way, who has tried to imitate Narayan's action.

[00:04:00] Do you remember that?

[00:04:02] And he wore long sleeves as well, remember once as an experiment, quote unquote.

[00:04:07] So pretty funny.

[00:04:08] But no, Narayan's had a fantastic season.

[00:04:10] He's been the point of difference along with Salt Filman that Varun likes to call

[00:04:15] Phil Salt, who was a Delhi player last year.

[00:04:19] Yeah.

[00:04:20] And so then the only other thing for KKR really truly, it's been a pretty solid

[00:04:24] performance.

[00:04:25] Different people have stepped up.

[00:04:27] Venkatesh Iyer got some runs on the board.

[00:04:29] They almost collapsed at one point and they brought in Manish Pandey as an

[00:04:32] impact sub mid innings, which you knew I had to talk about and managed to get runs.

[00:04:37] But I guess this was against the Mumbai side, which we're going to talk in a

[00:04:40] second.

[00:04:40] But man, trust the Mumbai team to allow somebody like Mitchell Stark to be

[00:04:47] bowled back into form.

[00:04:47] Right?

[00:04:48] I think he picked up four for 33 in that innings.

[00:04:51] I mean, it's just the season Mumbai is having, right?

[00:04:54] They are all but disqualified or not disqualified, but eliminated from the

[00:04:58] playoffs, right?

[00:04:59] Sitting at six points from 11 matches.

[00:05:03] I mean, it just seems like that kind of season.

[00:05:05] Delhi has had those.

[00:05:06] So I empathize greatly, but even somebody like Mitchell Stark, who was in

[00:05:10] horrendous form, started to fight a little bit.

[00:05:12] And then it took the opportunity to play against Mumbai for him to find his

[00:05:15] form again, right?

[00:05:15] KKR Yeah.

[00:05:17] I mean, Delhi used to bring out of form players back into form.

[00:05:21] The most expensive buy in the history of the IPL had had a total damn squib

[00:05:25] overseas and comes back.

[00:05:26] Venkatesh Chris Morris?

[00:05:27] Oh, you're talking about Stark.

[00:05:29] I thought you were still talking about Chris Morris with Delhi.

[00:05:31] Yeah.

[00:05:31] Keep going.

[00:05:32] No, no.

[00:05:33] So Stark comes and takes four wickets, just sort of justify.

[00:05:37] He seemed pretty pumped about the whole thing, which was good.

[00:05:39] I don't know.

[00:05:40] You also sent a meme or maybe Varun sent the meme around the bottom three

[00:05:45] teams with the three teams that were involved in the Hardik Pandya

[00:05:49] transfer.

[00:05:50] So talk us through that a little.

[00:05:51] KKR Yeah.

[00:05:51] I mean, yeah, at this time of recording this, RCB has won one more

[00:05:55] game and leapfrogged their way to seventh.

[00:05:57] But for quite a while there, the three bottom teams were the

[00:06:00] Mumbai Indians, the Gujarat Titans and RCB.

[00:06:03] And all three were involved in the Hardik Pandya trade because you're

[00:06:06] wondering about RCB.

[00:06:07] They had to buy or take by trade whatever the word is, Cameron Green

[00:06:11] to make room for Hardik to move from Gujarat to Mumbai.

[00:06:14] So all three teams involved in the Hardik transfer were at the bottom.

[00:06:19] But DJ, then let's, so we talked the top two, KKR and our sons kind

[00:06:21] of cementing.

[00:06:22] The bottom Mumbai basically cemented at six points from 11 games.

[00:06:27] You then have three more teams tied with just eight points from 11

[00:06:31] games.

[00:06:32] Mathematically, maximum of 14.

[00:06:36] Mathematically possible, but basically like very, very, very low

[00:06:40] probability.

[00:06:41] Right.

[00:06:41] I'm talking about Gujarat who's second from the bottom, quite a

[00:06:43] fall from where they were last season.

[00:06:46] Punjab third from the bottom and then RCB, although they found

[00:06:49] three wins this week out of three matches, they mathematically kept

[00:06:53] themselves alive.

[00:06:54] But it's a stretch, right?

[00:06:55] To be at eight points with only three games remaining and back

[00:06:58] yourself to qualify.

[00:07:00] Yeah, definitely.

[00:07:01] I don't think that bottom three are going to qualify for sure.

[00:07:04] I don't think that's a discussion.

[00:07:06] What changed with RCB?

[00:07:08] Was it a little bit of mindset that, listen, we've got nothing

[00:07:10] to lose anymore.

[00:07:11] Was it truly just, hey, Goalie finally had, other than DK for

[00:07:15] a little bit, Goalie finally had somebody else batting well,

[00:07:18] whether it was a FAF or what else changed for RCB?

[00:07:22] Was it just FAF's form?

[00:07:23] I mean, there's a bit, there's this FAF's form.

[00:07:26] Karan Sharma came in.

[00:07:29] Other teams fell off.

[00:07:30] It's always a case of like the games are close, right?

[00:07:34] Like you may lose four or five games, but RCB weren't getting

[00:07:38] thrashed.

[00:07:38] Like Delhi were getting thrashed halfway through the season by

[00:07:41] like hundreds of runs.

[00:07:42] RCB weren't losing that badly.

[00:07:45] I mean, they lost a couple of games where they underperformed

[00:07:47] with the bat.

[00:07:48] But it's a long tournament and it's kind of nice to see a

[00:07:53] little bit of a bounce back from RCB given the passionate

[00:07:56] fan base that they have.

[00:07:57] But no, it's not going to be a season where they're going

[00:07:59] to break their jinx of not winning the men's IPL trophy,

[00:08:04] I should say.

[00:08:05] Yeah, it seems unlikely, but mathematically, like I said,

[00:08:07] anything is possible.

[00:08:08] It always messes with my head a little bit because in an

[00:08:10] eight team, IPL 14 points was the magic number.

[00:08:13] And in a 10 team, it's 16 ideally, maybe more.

[00:08:17] And so I'm sitting here thinking, well, if they can get to

[00:08:18] 14, it could work.

[00:08:20] But not an easy task, especially with both Punjab and

[00:08:24] CSK and of course, Delhi left to play.

[00:08:26] Could be an interesting run for RCB in their final

[00:08:29] matches.

[00:08:30] And so then DJ that brings us to the middle of the

[00:08:32] table with four teams basically vying for two spots.

[00:08:36] You have CSK, Hyderabad and Lucknow all at 12 points.

[00:08:41] And you have Delhi at 10 points.

[00:08:43] Mathematically, Hyderabad also has a game in hand.

[00:08:47] So they could theoretically get all the way up to 20 if they

[00:08:50] win all four of their matches, all four of their matches

[00:08:52] remaining.

[00:08:53] So you have to say that probably currently in the

[00:08:55] front runner position to try to get to one of those

[00:08:58] playoff spots.

[00:08:59] I think what was super critical for them this week was

[00:09:03] beating Rajasthan and doing so by one run because you

[00:09:06] think about this, if that match had gone a slightly

[00:09:08] different direction, Rajasthan would have been firmly

[00:09:10] at the top and Hyderabad would have been at 10 points

[00:09:12] with Delhi still game in hand.

[00:09:14] How great was that game?

[00:09:16] I mean, Hyderabad team made...

[00:09:18] It was a fantastic game.

[00:09:19] Yeah, talk us through it.

[00:09:20] Hyderabad made 201 and then it took...

[00:09:23] I don't want to call him a legend or an old school guy

[00:09:27] because he's still fit but it took Bhuvi refinding

[00:09:30] that form that he is best known for.

[00:09:32] I mean, Bhuvi at his best in tennis, which is

[00:09:35] another sport I watch a lot about.

[00:09:37] You talk a lot about not only like how well players

[00:09:40] are doing, but you talk about who has a high

[00:09:41] ceiling and who has a high or low floor, right?

[00:09:44] So yes, Bhuvi's floor has been pretty low at times,

[00:09:47] but man his ceiling is so high when he's at his best.

[00:09:51] How great a bowler is he?

[00:09:53] No, fantastic and of course it went down to the

[00:09:56] last ball defending two off one ball.

[00:10:01] That could have been a recipe for disaster

[00:10:02] if the umpire had got that wrong, right?

[00:10:05] With by the way, the captain of the West Indies team,

[00:10:08] Robin Paul, who you just mentioned batting.

[00:10:10] He was on 27 or 14 I think at the time.

[00:10:13] I mean, all the book, all the odds would have said.

[00:10:16] Yeah, so talk us through that scenario actually, right?

[00:10:18] If it wraps you on the pad and it's been given out,

[00:10:23] of course in this scenario it ended up being out,

[00:10:26] Powell reviewed, it ended up staying out, no issue.

[00:10:29] What happens if it's given out and their decisions overturned?

[00:10:32] Because the ball is dead the second the finger gets raised, right?

[00:10:36] Yeah, and we've been saying this for a long time, right?

[00:10:38] What happens if this happens in a World Cup final on the last ball?

[00:10:41] Because we've had some pretty odd things happen in a World Cup final, right?

[00:10:45] Of late, well let's say 2019.

[00:10:47] Let's not talk about 2023.

[00:10:50] But it was, I mean, surely the answer is that the umpire waits until

[00:10:57] the play is completed, right?

[00:11:00] Surely that must be the answer.

[00:11:04] Yeah, I mean, it feels so awkward to think about getting wrapped on the pad.

[00:11:08] The bowler, if the bowlers has to,

[00:11:10] I think I could argue if the bowler has to stop what he's doing to appeal,

[00:11:14] and he may not be in position to execute a runout,

[00:11:20] which is what they would have needed if it was not out, right?

[00:11:23] So if the bowler and keeper are both down with their hands raised appealing,

[00:11:27] then how are they going to get a runout?

[00:11:29] And so then you're saying you have to get rid of the appeal altogether

[00:11:32] and just if it hits the pad, the umpire should review it for an LBW.

[00:11:35] I don't know, you've just got to make an appeal, right?

[00:11:37] You don't have to keep appealing.

[00:11:39] You say, how is that? And you move on.

[00:11:40] But there's an art to the longer you appeal,

[00:11:43] the more pressure you put, the more likely he is to give it.

[00:11:45] I don't know. It's so fascinating because I don't know how you solve it.

[00:11:48] But no, so I mean, it could have gone really badly wrong, right?

[00:11:52] That's the whole point.

[00:11:53] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:11:55] Yeah, but it didn't and a phenomenal one for Hyderabad.

[00:11:58] And it keeps, I mean, Rajasthan had won seven out of eight,

[00:12:02] I think it was at that point or eight out of nine even.

[00:12:05] And it would have just been very, very sick.

[00:12:08] I think that final over by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, that final delivery

[00:12:12] ended up being incredibly significant to who ends up qualifying on the points table.

[00:12:17] These are the one other game I have to ask you about

[00:12:19] because the other team that's fighting for playoff contention,

[00:12:24] three losses out of the last five,

[00:12:25] but then the last two games were back-to-back series, if you will, against Punjab,

[00:12:29] in which there was one win and one loss.

[00:12:31] And I'm talking about the CSK team.

[00:12:34] Let me start by asking you about CSK's new number nine.

[00:12:37] First time in the history of cricket that Dhoni has walked out to bat at number nine,

[00:12:42] as far as I can tell.

[00:12:44] What was the rationale?

[00:12:46] What was the thought process?

[00:12:48] I don't know.

[00:12:49] There isn't any thought process.

[00:12:50] It's just a new role, isn't it?

[00:12:52] Let the youngsters do something for a change.

[00:12:54] But this was a game where he finally got out.

[00:12:57] He finally got out.

[00:12:58] For a smaller.

[00:12:59] Listen, even if he's not making runs, he's not wasting balls, right?

[00:13:02] And that's what it's...

[00:13:03] And that was your problem with him when he was an India player, right?

[00:13:06] Why is he scored 50 of 72 when everybody else has got out quickly?

[00:13:11] Yeah, no.

[00:13:12] I mean, his whole thing was batting deep.

[00:13:16] And I didn't have a problem with him when he was an India player.

[00:13:19] But I think fundamentally, I think you as a CSK fan, you just have to,

[00:13:23] I hope, come to terms with the fact that this is just a farewell season.

[00:13:26] He's batting and he's still keeping great.

[00:13:28] And so he justifies his part of the team there.

[00:13:30] But in an ideal world, if you're trying to map out your perfect composition,

[00:13:33] if you have a keeper that doesn't want to bat anything more than,

[00:13:36] call it six to eight balls maximum of 12, 13,

[00:13:39] that makes it very, very difficult to select.

[00:13:41] But he is Emma's Tony.

[00:13:43] He can do whatever he wants.

[00:13:45] And I think it's fair if he's sort of said,

[00:13:47] listen, I want to get one final season.

[00:13:51] It's unclear to me right now based on how they've been performing

[00:13:54] a little bit inconsistent, etc.,

[00:13:56] that it's unclear to me whether he'll get to lift a trophy in his final,

[00:14:01] you know, in his final set now.

[00:14:02] What is your take?

[00:14:03] CSK has what it takes.

[00:14:05] So I know Gil said that, don't say that when Gujarat Titan are playing,

[00:14:09] but I mean, CSK have a record that

[00:14:13] they win the playoffs more often than not.

[00:14:16] And once you're in the playoffs,

[00:14:19] yes, there's arguments that people in the eliminator tend to win less and stuff.

[00:14:23] But I think CSK have won the whole thing

[00:14:26] while playing the eliminator rather than the qualifier one.

[00:14:30] So I think they'd be focused right now on getting through.

[00:14:35] Pathirana is injured as well.

[00:14:37] I think he didn't play this last game, which was annoying

[00:14:39] because he was my fantasy vice captain.

[00:14:40] Yeah, same, man.

[00:14:41] And it was a 5 a.m. start game for me.

[00:14:43] So I couldn't see the squad in time to change it.

[00:14:45] But yeah, I was in.

[00:14:47] But I mean, good win for them, right?

[00:14:50] At the end, because they needed those points.

[00:14:53] They were looking like they were slipping.

[00:14:54] They were.

[00:14:55] I mean, listen, at 101 for five in 12 overs

[00:14:58] and you end at 167 in this season where 230 plus has been chased down.

[00:15:03] Phenomenal win to win from 167 is absolutely phenomenal.

[00:15:07] Credit to Jadeja who showed up with the ball credit,

[00:15:09] a lot of credit actually to Tushar Deshpande

[00:15:12] who came in having to play that Pathirana role honestly,

[00:15:15] which is not easy and picked up two early wickets, I think.

[00:15:19] And that changed the course of the game.

[00:15:21] So, DJ, it's a little bit of cheating here,

[00:15:25] but this stage in the game with each team

[00:15:28] that has about three, maybe four games left to play,

[00:15:30] this stage in the tournament, who do you predict are your final four?

[00:15:36] OK, so obviously RR and KK are nearly through, right?

[00:15:40] So that leaves Sunrisers, CSK.

[00:15:45] Lucknow and Delhi is the next four if you're eliminating the bottom four.

[00:15:48] I think the bottom.

[00:15:50] Yeah, I don't know.

[00:15:52] I wouldn't back the bottom four.

[00:15:54] I'm not sure.

[00:15:56] Maybe, I don't know, Delhi.

[00:15:58] I don't think Delhi is going to qualify, right?

[00:16:00] So let's cut them out.

[00:16:02] I think the CSK pedigree will ensure that they go through.

[00:16:07] So that's CSK.

[00:16:09] And then the choice of between Hyderabad and Lucknow.

[00:16:11] And I mean, Varun would love me to say this,

[00:16:13] but Hyderabad I think looked OK this season.

[00:16:17] They've set the tournament alight.

[00:16:20] They've become an interesting team to watch, right?

[00:16:22] Because they've played the game in a way which has been exciting.

[00:16:28] And they were a very boring team for a long time.

[00:16:31] Because and some of that may be prejudice

[00:16:33] because we like seeing fours and sixes.

[00:16:36] And they were a bowling heavy team.

[00:16:37] Yeah, and suddenly they've gone to the other extreme, right?

[00:16:41] They've gone to the other extreme.

[00:16:42] And I mean, they've got a World Cup winning captain in there, right?

[00:16:45] And a World Test Championship winning captain.

[00:16:47] And that leadership change has clearly worked for them.

[00:16:51] So I mean, I think it's going to be CSK and SRH.

[00:16:55] I'd be surprised if it's anybody else, but I don't know what your thoughts are.

[00:16:59] Yeah, I think it's interesting.

[00:17:00] The piece that I didn't give you is just the run in the final few matches, right?

[00:17:04] SRH has four left and all four of them are below them on the table.

[00:17:07] Mumbai, Lucknow, Gujarat and Punjab.

[00:17:10] You'd back them to win the two out of the four that they need in that.

[00:17:13] I mean, anything is possible in the IPL.

[00:17:14] We've seen that time and time again.

[00:17:16] You'd back them to win two of those four, I think.

[00:17:18] CSK, on the other hand, has to play Gujarat, Bangalore who are below them,

[00:17:22] but also has to play Rajasthan.

[00:17:23] So that's where I think CSK versus Rajasthan match is going to be really interesting

[00:17:28] because if RR comes out.

[00:17:29] Now if RR next has to play Delhi and if they get the win,

[00:17:33] which is probably their favorite too, they'd have 18 points.

[00:17:37] They might start trying some things with their combination

[00:17:39] and resting some players, et cetera, if they're guaranteed a qualification,

[00:17:43] which unlikely until you've cemented the top two spot, but they might.

[00:17:47] And in that scenario, CSK has an opening potentially if RR is not playing.

[00:17:51] A full strength side.

[00:17:52] So it's going to be a very, very, very interesting.

[00:17:54] What are your picks?

[00:17:56] So I think KKR and Rajasthan are confirmed for me.

[00:18:00] I think Hyderabad makes it.

[00:18:01] I'm predicting actually that...

[00:18:04] So I have a little bit of bias because I think

[00:18:06] this is a good segue into our next topic,

[00:18:08] but I think the players who didn't get a T20 World Cup call-out or shout

[00:18:13] are going to be out for revenge.

[00:18:16] And so I think Lucknow, you expect to see Lucknow show up and Rahul to show up

[00:18:22] and kind of make a statement that he felt like he should have been selected.

[00:18:26] So I think Lucknow will leave Pranj Chennai in the run.

[00:18:29] And I think Chennai has got the pedigree, no question,

[00:18:31] but they have not quite figured out how to use Daryl Mitchell.

[00:18:34] They haven't quite figured out how to use Moeen Ali.

[00:18:36] They're still playing Rahane at the top of the order.

[00:18:38] It's a lot of questions.

[00:18:40] And I think short of Ruth Raj finding form again at the top of the order,

[00:18:44] CSK would have looked like a very, very different side this season.

[00:18:47] So it'll be interesting to see.

[00:18:48] I'm still holding out for another Dhoni trophy.

[00:18:51] Always, always, always, always.

[00:18:52] All right, DJ, why don't we take a very quick break?

[00:18:54] We will be back and talk all things T20 World Cup squad.

[00:18:58] If this is the part you've been waiting for,

[00:18:59] don't go anywhere.

[00:19:00] We'll be right back.

[00:19:10] Welcome back to the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast.

[00:19:13] If you're just joining us,

[00:19:14] we're going to talk about the T20 World Cup squad.

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[00:19:44] It's that time.

[00:19:46] All right.

[00:19:47] So it feels like in my head, it was forever ago.

[00:19:48] That's the nature of these once a week podcasts where

[00:19:51] something comes out on a Monday morning, you miss it,

[00:19:53] and then you have to talk about it a week later.

[00:19:56] India squad for the T20 World Cup.

[00:19:58] So I will run down it really quickly

[00:20:00] and then we can just chat through your reactions,

[00:20:01] notable omissions, et cetera.

[00:20:03] So in the final 15 are Rohit Sharma,

[00:20:05] Kishas V. Jaiswal,

[00:20:06] Bharat Kohli,

[00:20:07] Surya Kumar Yadav,

[00:20:08] Risha Panth,

[00:20:09] Sanju Samson,

[00:20:11] Haridik Pandya,

[00:20:12] Shivam Dube,

[00:20:13] Ravindra Jadeta,

[00:20:14] Akshar Patel,

[00:20:15] Kuldeep Yadav,

[00:20:16] Yusvinder Chahal,

[00:20:18] Arshdeep Singh,

[00:20:19] Jaspreet Bumrah,

[00:20:20] Mohammed Siraj.

[00:20:22] There are four reserves,

[00:20:23] Gill,

[00:20:24] Renku Singh,

[00:20:25] Khalil and Avesh.

[00:20:28] Overall kind of marks out of 10 on this one.

[00:20:30] I see you shaking your head.

[00:20:31] If you're listening in audio,

[00:20:32] you don't get to see that,

[00:20:33] but he just started shaking his head as I ran through it.

[00:20:35] Are you disappointed with this?

[00:20:36] I'm going to give it three on 10, man.

[00:20:38] It's not disappointing.

[00:20:39] It's expected.

[00:20:41] That's the point.

[00:20:42] It's expected.

[00:20:43] There's nothing disappointing

[00:20:44] because you expect this same score.

[00:20:47] Ashwin, sir, I'm going to ask you,

[00:20:49] how many of those players are test players?

[00:20:53] Out of the top 15?

[00:20:54] Rohit Jaiswal Kohli.

[00:20:55] I'm excluding Sky even though he has played,

[00:20:57] but let's take him out.

[00:20:58] He's played a test match, yeah?

[00:20:59] Yeah, but I'm taking him out.

[00:21:00] I don't think he's a test player.

[00:21:01] Rohit Jaiswal Kohli,

[00:21:04] Panth,

[00:21:06] Jadeja Akshar Kuldeep,

[00:21:09] Bumrah Siraj.

[00:21:11] Maybe you can say Harithik,

[00:21:12] but he hasn't played in a while, but nine.

[00:21:15] Nine out of your top 15?

[00:21:17] Play test.

[00:21:19] If your T20 squad looks so much like your test squad,

[00:21:26] are you doing that right is my question to you?

[00:21:30] I mean, it's interesting.

[00:21:31] I'm trying to pull up at,

[00:21:33] Varun did send us his squad as a 14th April.

[00:21:36] He's not on this episode today,

[00:21:37] but I want to go through what he said.

[00:21:39] I have a good one for you.

[00:21:40] He said, Rohit,

[00:21:40] he said, I have a good one for you.

[00:21:42] He said Rohit Jaiswal, Kohli,

[00:21:44] Sky, Dube, Rinku, Panth,

[00:21:46] Pandya, Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep.

[00:21:48] He had Chahal slash Vishnu,

[00:21:50] I'll give him that one.

[00:21:51] Siraj, Arshdeep.

[00:21:53] And so his differences were he had Gil and Rinku.

[00:21:58] He did not have Samson

[00:22:02] and I'm trying to do quick comparison on the fly.

[00:22:07] Maybe he, Samson was the only one he didn't have?

[00:22:09] Samson, Rohit Jaiswal.

[00:22:11] Anyway, so he had Gil and Rinku

[00:22:14] and they're both traveling as reserves.

[00:22:17] What is your assessment of that?

[00:22:20] I'm okay with that.

[00:22:21] I'm sorry.

[00:22:21] He didn't have Akshay.

[00:22:22] He didn't have Akshay.

[00:22:22] That was the difference.

[00:22:23] So I wouldn't have cared about Gil

[00:22:25] because we've got enough people

[00:22:27] that can do the job that Gil does.

[00:22:29] I'm upset that Rinku isn't in there.

[00:22:33] And we've taken no chances

[00:22:34] with this squad at all.

[00:22:35] There's no, I mean, Samson is a good pick,

[00:22:38] but he's made himself unignorable.

[00:22:41] The question there is,

[00:22:42] is he going to be first choice

[00:22:43] or is he going to be kind of second choice behind Panth?

[00:22:47] I don't know.

[00:22:48] We've talked about this last week, I think.

[00:22:50] Left-handedness versus four or five, whatever.

[00:22:53] Agarkar and Rohit were quite clear

[00:22:54] that they've picked him because

[00:22:56] they picked these two and not KL

[00:22:58] because KL is batting top of the order.

[00:23:00] And that's exactly what we'd said as well.

[00:23:01] Right?

[00:23:01] Yeah.

[00:23:02] We've got four spinners.

[00:23:05] Are these, do we need four spinners?

[00:23:09] We've got Arshdeep back in, but I mean, you look like you've got...

[00:23:12] Okay, sorry.

[00:23:13] Before you go, and I can sense

[00:23:16] you're frustrated and feeling negative,

[00:23:17] but before you go to that,

[00:23:18] you said Samson has made himself unignorable

[00:23:22] and Chehel is back in the squad and Dubé.

[00:23:26] Are you happy for these guys?

[00:23:27] That's something worth celebrating, right?

[00:23:29] These guys have all kind of worked

[00:23:30] and worked their way back and deserved it.

[00:23:33] Yeah.

[00:23:33] I mean, Dubé has had two good IPL seasons.

[00:23:36] The question is, is he going to bowl?

[00:23:38] I don't know whether he's got a new model,

[00:23:40] remodeled bowling action and stuff.

[00:23:44] I think we saw him maybe early in the year.

[00:23:46] He was a little bit quicker than he was previously.

[00:23:49] He's been smashing it.

[00:23:50] He's been a spin hitter.

[00:23:52] We don't know what the US pitches are going to tell us.

[00:23:55] But the assumption so far

[00:23:57] is clearly been they're going to be spinning, right?

[00:23:59] The West Indies is typically spinning their kids.

[00:24:02] Yeah.

[00:24:02] But you don't know these are all drop-in pitches

[00:24:04] that are being built right now, man.

[00:24:05] So you tell us, you're the one that lives in the US.

[00:24:08] They're theoretically being built in Australia

[00:24:11] and moved over.

[00:24:12] Is it?

[00:24:12] Yeah.

[00:24:13] So that's also going to be very interesting.

[00:24:16] But yeah, I think it's fair assumption

[00:24:17] to say they'll be spinning with kids.

[00:24:18] That's why they've picked four spinners.

[00:24:19] That's why they've picked batters

[00:24:21] who can bat against spin in at least in Dubé.

[00:24:24] But yeah, but let's pause and be excited

[00:24:27] for these guys for a quick second.

[00:24:28] Seeing Chahal back in the squad, incredible.

[00:24:31] I mean, Kulcha, there was a point

[00:24:33] when I thought I'd never see Kulcha bowl in tandem.

[00:24:34] We may still not, by the way.

[00:24:36] The first three choice spinners are probably

[00:24:38] Jadeja, Kuldeep, Akshar in that order

[00:24:41] before Chahal gets a look.

[00:24:43] But you never know.

[00:24:45] And then yeah, man, I was just really happy for Sampson.

[00:24:48] There's at least the hardest job

[00:24:51] with the selectors is there's at least 20 guys

[00:24:52] trying to break down the doors in any India setup.

[00:24:56] And so there was always going to be two to three

[00:25:00] who you're gutted for that got missed out.

[00:25:02] We'll talk to them next.

[00:25:03] But how great for Sampson.

[00:25:04] He's not only had a great season with the bat,

[00:25:06] he's had an excellent season as skipper

[00:25:09] and that goes a very long way.

[00:25:11] And so kudos to him, right?

[00:25:13] Now I'm happy for the guys that got picked

[00:25:14] but have you thought about the guys

[00:25:16] that didn't get even into the,

[00:25:19] forget the 15, even into the reserve.

[00:25:21] Riyan Parag, we've been talking

[00:25:24] for a long time about this guy.

[00:25:25] He's finally had a good IPL season.

[00:25:28] You want people who can bat in bowl.

[00:25:30] You've not won this particular tournament

[00:25:33] playing this brand of cricket with specialists.

[00:25:36] How many specialists do we have in that team?

[00:25:39] It's, how many, the question is

[00:25:42] how many all-rounders have you got, right?

[00:25:44] Four, right?

[00:25:45] Let's count the wicket keepers as all-rounders.

[00:25:48] So a six if you include the all-wicket keepers

[00:25:51] which is not bad I guess.

[00:25:52] I think you could argue in a 15 person squad

[00:25:54] maybe there's room for three specialist badgers,

[00:25:56] three specialist bowlers.

[00:25:58] So you should have more.

[00:25:59] Yeah, but not out of the 11,

[00:26:01] how many are you going to play?

[00:26:02] I mean what's the 11 you're going to play?

[00:26:04] Yeah, but one wicket keeper obviously out of those two.

[00:26:07] No, but what is, so let's get to the question

[00:26:10] of what 11 you play before we talk more

[00:26:13] because who misses out from this 15, right?

[00:26:17] You can argue you play two of Arshdeep,

[00:26:20] Bumrah and Siraj, maybe one even.

[00:26:23] Yeah.

[00:26:24] Right?

[00:26:24] So you can argue-

[00:26:25] I'd say it'll be Arshdeep and Bumrah.

[00:26:27] Okay, so you're picking two quicks,

[00:26:29] then you're picking Kuldeep for sure.

[00:26:32] Are you picking a second specialist spinner

[00:26:33] or do you go straight to Jadeja or Akshay?

[00:26:35] Jadeja, you go straight to him.

[00:26:36] Straight to Jadeja.

[00:26:38] And they both swap for each other.

[00:26:40] And then do you take Dube and Hardik

[00:26:42] as all-rounders to give you both?

[00:26:44] You only pick Hardik.

[00:26:46] So then you don't have a sixth bowling option.

[00:26:49] That's the point.

[00:26:49] That's what I've been trying to-

[00:26:50] That's the issue all along I guess, right?

[00:26:52] Yeah.

[00:26:54] If you have Riyan Parag, he's been in fantastic form

[00:26:57] finishing games, rescuing Rajasthan

[00:26:59] in part of a winning team.

[00:27:00] Again, this is just one example, right?

[00:27:03] You've got others like Nitish Reddy who bowled well.

[00:27:05] You've got-

[00:27:05] Take a chance.

[00:27:07] The only time we've won this

[00:27:08] is when Joginder Sharma got Mizbahar.

[00:27:10] 2007, when the whole squad looked-

[00:27:12] I mean if you picked 2007-esque squad,

[00:27:16] you're going a completely different direction, right?

[00:27:17] And that's the point.

[00:27:18] Like when we won in 2007,

[00:27:21] what was the one thing that changed?

[00:27:23] The seniors said,

[00:27:25] let the kids do it.

[00:27:27] Yeah.

[00:27:29] Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, Lakshman sat out.

[00:27:35] And it's the definition of madness,

[00:27:37] doing the same thing over and over again,

[00:27:39] expecting a different result.

[00:27:41] You sent me the meme or Varun sent me the meme

[00:27:43] where we listed out the top six

[00:27:47] of the Indian team since 2021 World Cup, right?

[00:27:50] It's one change.

[00:27:51] Just one for Rahul, right?

[00:27:53] Yeah.

[00:27:54] I mean, yes.

[00:27:55] Fair.

[00:27:57] I mean, I think the difference was just in 2007,

[00:28:01] T20 was where there was complete uncertainty

[00:28:04] on whether this format would stay or go.

[00:28:05] It could have gone the direction of the Hong Kong sixes

[00:28:09] or T10 or whatever.

[00:28:10] They've been a lot of quote unquote

[00:28:14] passing garbage formats, if you will, in our sport.

[00:28:17] And at the time in 2007,

[00:28:19] we didn't know if it would stay or not.

[00:28:21] At this point, it's probably the dominant format

[00:28:23] in world cricket today.

[00:28:25] And so now if you are the seniors,

[00:28:29] I mean, let's just talk about that for a second.

[00:28:31] You're basically talking about Virat, right?

[00:28:33] Because Rohit's captain.

[00:28:34] And Rohit.

[00:28:35] But he's captain.

[00:28:35] I mean, but Rohit's captain

[00:28:38] because he hasn't won the 2023 World Cup,

[00:28:41] the ODI one, and he's asked for Kohli.

[00:28:45] And for me, it comes back down.

[00:28:48] When do you move on from this?

[00:28:50] Yeah, but I think the question is,

[00:28:52] is it the responsibility of Rohit and Kohli

[00:28:54] to be the bigger people and say,

[00:28:56] it's time to step aside?

[00:28:57] It's not.

[00:28:57] It's absolutely not.

[00:28:58] It is the responsibility of the board

[00:29:00] and the coach to make a tough call.

[00:29:02] Gosh, even after Stoiness,

[00:29:04] the match after Stoiness made his match winning century,

[00:29:06] they asked him about the World Cup

[00:29:08] and he said, I think it's time

[00:29:09] to bring more youngsters in.

[00:29:10] Right.

[00:29:10] So Jake Fraser McGurk hasn't been picked in Australia.

[00:29:13] Yeah, which is probably a discussion for next week

[00:29:15] as we talk about other squads.

[00:29:18] DJ, talk me through quickly the notable omissions, right?

[00:29:20] And I'm including reserves because as it stands,

[00:29:22] they're not in the 15.

[00:29:23] You can change that through May 25th.

[00:29:25] So if Gil, Rinku, Khalil or Avesh

[00:29:27] has a rock star next 19 days,

[00:29:29] they might find their way in,

[00:29:31] next 19 days of IPL.

[00:29:32] But there are notable omissions, right?

[00:29:34] You mentioned Rahul.

[00:29:36] You have Shubhban, Gil, Rinku Singh.

[00:29:38] That second, third Pacers part,

[00:29:40] there was a couple other guys

[00:29:41] who were potentially in the running.

[00:29:42] Natarajan maybe, if you will.

[00:29:44] And then Bishnoi.

[00:29:45] Bishnoi is still at the time of the squad announcement,

[00:29:49] I think was number six ranked T20 bowler in the world.

[00:29:52] Internationals.

[00:29:54] And missed out.

[00:29:55] So thoughts on those omissions?

[00:29:57] You said Gil, you're okay with it.

[00:29:58] The Rinku mission is hard

[00:30:01] because he's not been given an opportunity

[00:30:03] by the KKR management as much this season.

[00:30:06] We saw what he could do last year.

[00:30:07] He's played for India.

[00:30:09] He's done well.

[00:30:12] So that one I think hurts a little bit

[00:30:14] and he'll be hurting.

[00:30:16] I think my only note on that is,

[00:30:18] I don't think it, KKR is in second place.

[00:30:20] If they were at the bottom,

[00:30:21] it was a different discussion.

[00:30:23] Or I guess they're first right now.

[00:30:24] I don't think it's KKR's responsibility

[00:30:27] to give airtime to these guys.

[00:30:30] But it comes back to it's again,

[00:30:32] it's the VCCI's responsibility

[00:30:33] to not have the recency bias

[00:30:35] that you or I might have as podcast hosts

[00:30:38] and fans of the game

[00:30:39] and look to what Rinku has accomplished for India.

[00:30:43] Same thing with KL, right?

[00:30:45] That's the big omission.

[00:30:46] And it's the same thing.

[00:30:46] His franchise has said,

[00:30:47] you're going to bat top of the order

[00:30:48] because that's the best for us.

[00:30:50] He's batted in the middle of the order for Team India.

[00:30:53] He's done well.

[00:30:53] He did well in the ODI World Cup,

[00:30:55] batting at number five.

[00:30:56] There's no reason why he couldn't have done

[00:30:58] that for the franchise.

[00:30:59] The franchise said,

[00:30:59] you play for us.

[00:31:01] We pay your wages.

[00:31:02] I think the only difference for me there

[00:31:04] is he's captain of the franchise.

[00:31:06] So he probably could make the call.

[00:31:07] Like if Rinku was captain in KKR

[00:31:09] and not getting more batting time,

[00:31:12] it's a different discussion.

[00:31:13] Rahul is captain of his franchise.

[00:31:15] He probably made the call himself.

[00:31:17] He can't go against what the franchise coach

[00:31:19] and all of those guys are going to tell him.

[00:31:20] Like you just can't say,

[00:31:21] no, I've got India aspirations,

[00:31:23] so I'm going to bat five.

[00:31:25] No, I don't disagree.

[00:31:25] But I think it seems like he probably made the call.

[00:31:28] But that's off of no data.

[00:31:28] I'm saying that off of no data.

[00:31:29] So fair.

[00:31:30] So Gail and Rahul,

[00:31:31] I think you're OK with.

[00:31:33] I thought Baraag had an outside chance

[00:31:36] of doing it.

[00:31:37] I mean, the whole point is

[00:31:38] who wins these tournaments?

[00:31:39] People that have got

[00:31:40] multi-dimensional cricketers.

[00:31:42] It's been five years

[00:31:43] since we were talking about this.

[00:31:46] Western days, England,

[00:31:47] current champions, England.

[00:31:49] How many all-rounders do they have?

[00:31:51] Yeah, more than eight in the 11th.

[00:31:55] Australia?

[00:31:56] Australia's won it in 2021.

[00:31:58] How many all-rounders

[00:31:59] do they have of a similar ilk?

[00:32:02] I mean, Stoinis and Mitch Marsh

[00:32:05] are pretty similar cricketers, right?

[00:32:07] Like hit a big ball

[00:32:08] and bowl kind of medium-paced rubbish.

[00:32:13] So let me just run through

[00:32:14] a few of the Indian standout performers

[00:32:16] so far in the IPL

[00:32:17] and see if you think they had a quick shot.

[00:32:19] Ruturaj, Sai Sudarshan,

[00:32:22] Rayan Parag, who you've talked about,

[00:32:23] obviously, as you see.

[00:32:24] So the top two,

[00:32:25] let's just quickly address those.

[00:32:27] So the top two,

[00:32:28] again, top auto batters,

[00:32:30] probably anchors.

[00:32:33] Do they walk right in

[00:32:34] as soon as India likely loses

[00:32:36] this World Cup?

[00:32:36] Rohit and Kohli decide there.

[00:32:38] I mean, it's the minute

[00:32:39] Rohit says he's done,

[00:32:40] Ruturaj is next in line, right?

[00:32:43] Possibly.

[00:32:44] Or Gail maybe.

[00:32:45] Maybe Gail.

[00:32:46] I think maybe Gail.

[00:32:48] DDP has obviously fallen away now

[00:32:51] because he would have been

[00:32:52] in there a few seasons ago.

[00:32:54] But Ruturaj is captain of the franchise.

[00:32:57] I think he's probably first in line.

[00:32:59] He's got to be, yeah.

[00:33:00] Okay.

[00:33:01] Sai Sudarshan is also

[00:33:02] probably good backup

[00:33:03] for the next few years.

[00:33:04] And if he continues to be in good form,

[00:33:06] we'll get a look in.

[00:33:07] And then Telak started

[00:33:09] season a little bit soft but

[00:33:11] strengthened,

[00:33:11] but probably not truly

[00:33:12] in the reckoning, right?

[00:33:13] That was just the top batters,

[00:33:16] the top Indian batters.

[00:33:17] From a bowler's standpoint,

[00:33:19] still tied for the Purple Cap

[00:33:20] is Harshul Patel.

[00:33:22] Parpal.

[00:33:24] Did Parpal have a realistic shot

[00:33:25] at all this time?

[00:33:26] No.

[00:33:27] Okay.

[00:33:29] Varun Chakravartty,

[00:33:30] Natarajan,

[00:33:32] Harshit Rana,

[00:33:33] and then down further on the list,

[00:33:35] Mukesh Kumar, shockingly,

[00:33:37] is 14th on the list

[00:33:38] of Purple Cap holders.

[00:33:39] Any of them have a reasonable shot

[00:33:40] or do you feel like...

[00:33:42] I think Siraj is the other question

[00:33:44] hasn't had a good IPL,

[00:33:45] but has been a good...

[00:33:46] And he had a good last match

[00:33:48] where he finally showed up.

[00:33:49] I was like, is he playing

[00:33:51] Gujarat or is he just visualizing

[00:33:53] Namashri Laka?

[00:33:54] And is that what's bringing him

[00:33:55] the best in Siraj?

[00:33:57] But yeah, thoughts?

[00:33:58] So interesting.

[00:34:00] I think the name there

[00:34:00] that stood out to me

[00:34:03] was Harshit Rana.

[00:34:07] I think has something extra about him,

[00:34:10] which is interesting.

[00:34:11] Of course, Mayank Yadav

[00:34:12] is now injured and out of the IPL.

[00:34:14] He would have been a blinder

[00:34:15] of a selection,

[00:34:16] but perhaps they could have gone...

[00:34:19] When you've gone with Arshdeep,

[00:34:20] so Arshdeep I think was competing

[00:34:22] against Natarajan

[00:34:22] with that left-hander spot.

[00:34:24] They've gone with Arshdeep,

[00:34:25] bit younger, bit fitter possibly.

[00:34:27] Not been in great form

[00:34:28] this IPL either.

[00:34:30] Natarajan nailing those yokas

[00:34:31] could have been a good sub,

[00:34:36] but Harshit Rana,

[00:34:37] I think could have given

[00:34:39] the selector some food for thought.

[00:34:41] Bhuvi would be the other one

[00:34:43] that isn't back in.

[00:34:45] He played the last one,

[00:34:46] I think 2022 perhaps,

[00:34:48] if I'm not wrong.

[00:34:50] But yeah, my issue with some

[00:34:54] of the selections are

[00:34:55] that you've picked Akshar

[00:34:57] and Jadeja in the main squad.

[00:35:00] Why would you not pick Akshar

[00:35:03] as a reserve for Jadeja?

[00:35:04] So I actually think,

[00:35:06] and we'll talk this a lot more

[00:35:07] as we get closer,

[00:35:08] if they end up seeing

[00:35:09] spinning wickets,

[00:35:11] I think there's matches

[00:35:12] or a world where you pick

[00:35:12] just Bumrah.

[00:35:14] Then you have Kuldeep

[00:35:15] as 10 and 11.

[00:35:17] And then your 6, 7, 8, 9,

[00:35:20] something happened on my screen

[00:35:22] that just cost some graphics.

[00:35:24] I didn't do anything.

[00:35:25] I think it's these new backs

[00:35:26] have these gestures or something.

[00:35:28] So I'll stop doing hand gestures.

[00:35:30] I think at a shitting moment

[00:35:32] for those of us,

[00:35:33] for those of you watching YouTube.

[00:35:35] I think 10 and 11

[00:35:36] could be Kuldeep and Bumrah.

[00:35:37] And then I think 6, 7, 8, 9

[00:35:38] could be Hardik, Shivam,

[00:35:41] Jadeja, Akshar.

[00:35:43] And that's the only scenario

[00:35:45] in which you then have

[00:35:48] six bowling options

[00:35:50] and batting through nine.

[00:35:52] And that would be interesting.

[00:35:54] Now, that means if you play

[00:35:56] Rohit, Jaiswal,

[00:35:58] Kohli, Sky,

[00:36:01] and then one of Panth or Sampson

[00:36:03] that runs out your team.

[00:36:05] But if I did that math, all right.

[00:36:07] But there's a world where Hardik bats 6,

[00:36:10] Dube 7, Jadeja 8, Akshar 9.

[00:36:12] And you give yourself

[00:36:13] three spinning options,

[00:36:15] one fast and two medium options

[00:36:17] and then five core batters

[00:36:20] one of who keeps.

[00:36:22] Do you know what I mean?

[00:36:23] Does that add up?

[00:36:23] Yeah.

[00:36:24] I think some of Dube's selection,

[00:36:26] by the way,

[00:36:26] is to cater for Hardik's

[00:36:28] lack of batting form,

[00:36:29] to be honest with you.

[00:36:31] So if you're then saying...

[00:36:31] He's the vice captain, yes.

[00:36:33] But you're saying Dube is a backup

[00:36:34] for Hardik and Akshar is a backup

[00:36:36] for Jadeja.

[00:36:37] And I'm saying I think

[00:36:38] Rohit is seeing all four of those guys

[00:36:40] playing in playoff.

[00:36:41] If he is, that's good

[00:36:42] because that's what we've been asking for

[00:36:45] throughout, right?

[00:36:46] Yeah.

[00:36:47] All right.

[00:36:47] We could probably spend the next hour

[00:36:49] talking about this.

[00:36:50] If you are listening to this,

[00:36:51] send us in.

[00:36:52] Send us on socials

[00:36:53] if you're listening as an audio

[00:36:54] at one tip one hand.

[00:36:55] But if you're on YouTube,

[00:36:56] put them in the comments.

[00:36:56] We want to hear from you.

[00:36:57] What is your gut assessment on the squad?

[00:37:00] Has the six days

[00:37:01] healed the wounds

[00:37:02] of the squad announcement initially

[00:37:03] and now you're fine with it?

[00:37:05] How...

[00:37:06] Who would your 15 have been

[00:37:07] and who is your final 11

[00:37:09] going to be going into the World Cup

[00:37:11] knowing that the team, like always,

[00:37:13] will assess conditions,

[00:37:14] potentially change, etc.

[00:37:17] DJ, this is disappointing

[00:37:19] in the midst of a fun IPL

[00:37:20] to have a squad

[00:37:21] that we're not that excited about.

[00:37:22] I'm still being an India fan.

[00:37:24] You have to be a little bit

[00:37:25] the eternal optimist.

[00:37:26] I still think this is a good squad.

[00:37:28] I think Kohli's form has been unbelievable.

[00:37:31] I think Rohit is perfectly priced

[00:37:33] to start finding small boundaries,

[00:37:37] finding those big sixes

[00:37:38] that we know he's capable of.

[00:37:40] And I'm very fired up by

[00:37:41] Jaiswal Skye, Samson,

[00:37:43] slash Pant in the mid

[00:37:44] as you're rounding out your batting.

[00:37:47] So I feel better about it,

[00:37:48] but that's also probably me

[00:37:49] just reconciling a little bit

[00:37:52] or rationalizing so I can go to sleep at night.

[00:37:55] I of course want India to win, right?

[00:37:57] Yeah.

[00:37:58] Want us to win.

[00:37:59] I'd be the first person

[00:38:01] to be the happiest if I was wrong on this.

[00:38:04] But how long have we been doing this podcast

[00:38:06] and we still haven't won an ICC trophy, have we?

[00:38:08] Six years?

[00:38:09] Maybe it's us.

[00:38:10] Is it us?

[00:38:11] We should just stop.

[00:38:13] Maybe if we stop right before

[00:38:15] we win something

[00:38:16] and then we can never come back.

[00:38:17] All right.

[00:38:17] That's as good a note

[00:38:18] as I can think of to wrap up.

[00:38:19] Thank you for joining.

[00:38:20] Bless IPL chat this week

[00:38:22] because it was a more quiet week

[00:38:23] but worked out well.

[00:38:24] Like I said, send us in

[00:38:25] what your 15s would be

[00:38:26] and what your 11 would be.

[00:38:28] Like, subscribe, add one to One Hand on all the socials.

[00:38:31] We'll be back next week

[00:38:32] as we basically are getting very, very, very close

[00:38:34] to cementing the playoffs,

[00:38:36] the final playoff spots of the IPL

[00:38:39] and then a couple of weeks away

[00:38:40] we have the finals.

[00:38:42] So it's going to be coming quick and fast.

[00:38:45] Lots and lots of cricket happening.

[00:38:46] DJ, thank you for joining me.

[00:38:48] This has been the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast.

[00:38:49] We will see you next week.