Join our sports specialists as they dissect Rishabh Pant's audacious reverse scoop for six against Ireland's Barry McCarthy, reminiscent of his unforgettable Stroke against England's James Anderson. Explore Pant's and Hardik Pandya's stellar performances in India's commanding victory over Ireland at New York’s Nassau County International Stadium to kick off their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign.
#IndiavsIreland #IndiaIreland #IndiavsIrelandMatch #IndiaIrelandMatch #India #Ireland #T20WorldCup #T20WorldCup2024 #HardikPandya #RishabhPant
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#IndiavsIreland #IndiaIreland #IndiavsIrelandMatch #IndiaIrelandMatch #India #Ireland #T20WorldCup #T20WorldCup2024 #HardikPandya #RishabhPant
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to One India. This is Avinash and we are joined by some special guests on
00:10 the new episode of Pitch Battle. India has played its first game in the T20 World Cup
00:16 and that's where our discussion will be based out. And the Team India's win last night against
00:24 Ireland was a clinical one, if you can say. But there were a lot of bone-off contentions
00:30 in the match as well, especially the pitch and the batting order as well. But the best
00:36 thing was Captain Rohit Sharma getting some runs against his name and Rishabh Pant, once
00:42 again, living up to the expectations after his much-awaited return to the international
00:47 cricket after a hiatus of more than 16 months. So, I am being joined by some very special
00:53 guests as I had already mentioned. There's Indranil Basu, Senior Journalist, Nilanjan
00:59 Dutta, Senior Journalist and Shakya Mitra is also joining us, the Sports Marketing Expert.
01:06 So, Indranil Da, New York pitch, let's start our conversation from that. Because King Kohli,
01:14 Suri Kumar Yadav, they all struggled. And if it not had been the batting of Rohit Sharma,
01:22 the win's difference, the margin of victory for Team India would have been a little lesser.
01:29 Probably, I can't say like that. But definitely, pitch is a problem. And that's why we have
01:35 named our show 'Pitch Battle'. Because the battle is there in that 22 yards, which is
01:41 so important. And we are so used to that variable bounce, if something goes up and down without
01:48 prior notice, we are actually rattled. Mr. Dutta, I want to know your voice. As a sports
01:58 person, we are taught at a very early age that you have to be ready to play at all kinds
02:04 of pitches. Like, we buy all weather ACs right now. I mean, we should be ready for it, right?
02:11 That's where the competition lies. It's not that you will get a concrete kind of a pitch
02:16 everywhere.
02:17 Yeah, absolutely. And most importantly, you know what, the situation, the ground realities
02:24 would be staying the same for not two teams, but all the teams who are playing in the competition.
02:30 Under-prepared pitches, call them under-prepared pitches or pitches which have been originally
02:35 dropped in from some other continent out there. The outfield, we have been hearing a lot about
02:40 that. We have seen them in the practice matches and also in the couple of three or four matches
02:45 that have been played so far. I don't remember how many matches I did watch. But it's the
02:49 same for each and every one. Good teams would be going away, means away in the sense, adjusting
02:56 fast and acclimatizing fast to the conditions. There's very less difference between the teams
03:01 in T20 cricket I always maintain and the teams which would be kind of adjusting faster and
03:09 in a better fashion, would eventually maybe turn out to be champions. There's no place
03:14 to complain. If you complain, what will you get? You won't get anything at all. Will the
03:18 pitches change? No, it won't change. This is the situation, whatever it is, we can go
03:23 backtrack and do an analysis as to whether it could have been done here, could have been
03:28 done somewhere else. But reality is, you have to play on that pitch. If you want to play,
03:34 play on that pitch. Otherwise, you have to come back. And this is not just Team India.
03:39 All teams adjust and play. Home and away conditions in football. I always bring football because
03:44 I am possibly the biggest football fan. So, you need to adjust to the conditions. As simple
03:49 as that. You won't be getting IPL pitches from the Indian context in any other place
03:53 of the world. England would have got IPL pitches. Australia would have got IPL pitches. No,
03:58 you wouldn't have.
03:59 Absolutely. So true. But Avinash, I want to know from you. Your thoughts. BCCI hasn't
04:07 given a formal complaint to the ICC regarding the pitch, how it's going to work out. So,
04:14 your thoughts. Do you think that that eventually can happen?
04:19 I doubt. Though, we have seen a lot of cricketers coming up front and they are criticising the
04:26 pitch in USA. Especially, the New York pitch, left, right and centre. We have read a lot
04:31 of comments. Michael Vaughan was one of them. Mohammed Patnaik, Cap had criticised. Basim
04:37 Jaffer adds his own twist and wit into the tweets and the criticism that he has come
04:43 up with. He says that it looks like a T20 instead. It's a test-match pitch. And what
04:50 sort of cricket the ICC wants to promote in USA, it's debatable whether it's test cricket
04:58 or the T20. So, a lot of wit and humour is floating around. Memes, trolls are all there
05:04 on the social media. But I doubt India is going to complain. Because remember, Dada,
05:10 when last year, teams came to India for the ODI World Cup, everybody had to contend with
05:16 whatever pitch we had offered them. Let's get back to the India-Pakistan big match coming
05:21 up in a couple of days' time. And what we saw in Ahmedabad, they were complaining about
05:26 the same. That there's less of water being used. Remember, we even did a story on mykill.com
05:34 about what sort of instructions the BCCI has given to the curators across all the venues
05:40 in the ODI World Cup. There's less of watering so that the grass dries up, the pitch starts
05:48 cracking up. So, being the host team, you had this advantage of making most of the situation
05:57 because the curators were all of your own picking. But now, you're not going to be critical
06:04 of what US or West Indies are laying out. The biggest concern for me, being a spectator
06:11 and an expert or whatever you can say me, was the dampness in the pitch. We were not
06:19 seeing the balls bouncing. So, as we were talking the other day, Rahul Dravid had rightly
06:26 mentioned that pitches like these, outfields like these are very dangerous for the outfielders
06:34 who are positioned in the outfield. So, yes, they have raised their complaints and concerns.
06:40 But BCCI is not going to lodge any formal complaint because no other board has done
06:46 it so far.
06:47 Alright, alright, alright. But, Shanky, I want to know from you, when we have lots of
06:53 runs in the IPL, we're complaining. And we have not that many runs in the board when
07:01 ICC T20 World Cup has just begun. We are complaining. So, what is… I mean, ACPA score should be,
07:09 for a T20 tournament like this, should be 180, 190. What are your figures as far as
07:15 T20 matches are concerned? I mean, it's not… We're not happy. Because runs are not coming.
07:19 If runs are not coming, people come there to watch the 4s and 6s. Those numbers are
07:24 not coming. Remember, 12,000… Not 12,000. I beg your pardon. 12,160. Six is best match
07:32 in this IPL. So, you can imagine. It's going to be really tough to digest what you've
07:38 seen after the IPL. Seen so many runs and all of a sudden, runs have just dried up.
07:43 You know, Indranil, I saw… Welcome to all the… To Abhinash and Niranjan as well. I
07:51 saw yesterday's match and I think India would have still won it. But I think 130.
07:57 Yesterday, if Ireland would have put up 125-130, it would have definitely been a contest. And
08:06 you know, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Panch, they both braved it out there. But I was concerned
08:11 that there could have been an injury. And if this is the pitch that's going to come
08:18 up in the Pakistan match, it's going to be something which… I mean, we are going
08:24 to be facing Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah. And Pakistan will be facing Jasprit Bumrah
08:30 and Mohamed Siraj if he plays. So, I don't know. I mean, first match in the USA and India-Pakistan
08:42 match, the showbiz match. I just hope it's not going to wrap up quickly. But yes, I mean,
08:50 if you look at the thing that… World Cups usually aren't high-scoring. World Cups…
09:00 The West Indies, at least the West Indies, they were not expecting very high scores which
09:04 is why India's team makeup is very different. Today, Australia played Oman and they made
09:10 just 164-164 which turned out to be a winning score. So, as of now, we are not seeing very
09:17 high scores. And yeah, I think India… I think Ireland bowled well. Though the target
09:27 was chased down in 12 overs, they bowled well. Josh Little and Mark Adair, they made it difficult
09:36 for them. But at the same time, I also feel Ireland, had they played a little bit more
09:41 responsibly, they could have taken their score to about 125. 125 would have been chased down.
09:49 But on this pitch, it would have given a bit of jitters to the Indian batters. It was not
09:59 an easy pitch to bat on.
10:00 Yeah. Jitters they did give. Especially the ball that was… On which Rohit went back.
10:07 We all are hoping that the injury is not grave and he will be fit and get on the pitch for
10:16 the practice matches as well. For nets sessions at least. But Dada, let's talk about Rishabh
10:23 Pant's performance. Rohit, being Rohit, he did… And we all know, this is a… It
10:28 was a typical Rohit Sharma knock. He took his time and waited for the balls. And we
10:35 all know how dangerous he could be when the opposition starts assorting only to short-pitch
10:42 deliveries because his pulls are world-class. And he is one of the best pullers of the ball.
10:49 Even hooks a lot. But yesterday, we saw the pulls only. But the way Rishabh Pant played
10:55 out. And had that not been a big partnership between Rohit and Rishabh. And Rishabh, if
11:04 he had not played the way he played, even 97 would have looked like a worth 50 for India.
11:11 No, I would like to make an observation then going on to Mr. Dutta. My observation is that
11:18 whenever we are playing an ICC event, the fact that we have not won because we have
11:22 always played it safe. In terms of batsmen playing within themselves. You have seen the
11:27 bowlers who have not been so attacking as the Pakistani past bowlers. They have not
11:33 been wicket-taking bowlers. They have always bowled to all the flow of runs. So, that's
11:39 been a kind of thing which has really stopped India from actually excelling in big matches,
11:45 in knockout matches. But Rishabh Pant is the only character I can see who can actually
11:51 give us some hope because he is fearless. You know, the problem with our batters is
11:54 they are scared of getting out. Rishabh can put that fear on the backseat and can drive
12:00 the whole team. And he has got that. And he has just got his life back after that accident
12:06 he sort of survived. He is a different kind of a person right now. He is not scared of
12:11 getting out. Whereas the other batsmen are scared of getting out. Then look at that reverse
12:16 sweep shot he played over the third-man area for a six. How to describe that kind of a
12:24 shot? He has done reverse sweep to Anderson when he was three-four years ago. He is a
12:31 different player from a different planet, I think. He is a different species when it
12:36 comes to hitting the ball fearlessly. And fearlessness is what we are looking at. Probably
12:41 this is missing and first time I am seeing that. I don't know what's going to happen.
12:45 Every time we play Pakistan, we say, "OK, our job is done. We have beaten Pakistan.
12:50 We don't need to win the tournament." Here, we have to win the tournament. It doesn't
12:53 matter if we lose to Pakistan on a bad pitch. We have to win this tournament. And that's
12:58 what we are looking at. We have to get beyond that feeling of being secure, that comfort
13:05 zone. You have to get out of that. And Rishabh Pandey is showing us that way. Would you agree,
13:10 Mr Dutta, with my thoughts?
13:12 Well, showing us the way, definitely. But perspectives differ and this is entirely my
13:20 perspective. People may not agree with you. You may not be agreeing with me. Shatko may
13:25 not be agreeing with me. Given the sort of pitches, I always am a kind of an old-school
13:32 guy who won't be going with a premeditated kind of strategy prior to the tournament.
13:39 You need to adjust as far as the pitches are. And we need someone between Rohit Sharma and
13:45 Virat Kohli to play out those 20 overs. Not as a sheet-anchor playing 60 balls for 70
13:52 runs. Absolutely not. But someone needs to hold that innings together. One among the
13:56 two. Maybe Virat Kohli comes in at number three. Yash Vaishnav, Jaisalmer Aswal comes
14:00 at number one and number two with Rohit Sharma. This is just one of the perspectives. Rishabh
14:05 Anand coming at number four. Because the middle order to me, especially on this kind of pitches,
14:11 this is not an IPL pitch. Looks a bit fragile. The top order and then the middle order. With
14:16 Rishabh, with Surya, with Hardik, with Shivam Dume, the kind of combination we went in yesterday
14:22 in the first match. There will be days on such pitches where we will make no mistake
14:27 30 for 4. Any team can be there. Do we have someone to take us, as Shatko was mentioning,
14:34 to a respectable total of 140 which can be defended at 130. 160 may be a winning total
14:39 on that pitch. It depends on what kind of pitch we are playing in. So, having both Virat
14:45 and Rohit to me at the top of the order on such a kind of pitch, means my perspective
14:51 would be differing a bit. But very rightly and as you point out, I totally agree that
14:56 we need to be fearless. Because that thing has come in between us that, "Come on, let's
15:03 play slowly, play on reputation." It hasn't delivered us anything except the inaugural
15:09 edition of the ICC World Cup. So, that way we need to go out of our shells, play. What
15:15 will happen now? We will lose. That match, the height match of Pakistan. India and Pakistan
15:20 for marketing reasons have always been placed in one group. No complaints on that. We all
15:24 look forward to the Indo-Pak clash. As far as people across the border look forward to
15:28 the Indo-Pak clash, absolutely fine. But that's not the final for us. We are there to win
15:34 this tournament. We have the potential to win this tournament. We need to adjust to
15:38 the conditions fast. Rishabh will be our next factor if we are to. He needs to be consistent.
15:44 He has to be extremely, extremely consistent and with Hardik coming back in his usual self,
15:49 it is achievable. But I would still believe if both Rohit and Virat open the innings together,
15:55 one of them has to play the kind of holding one in till 20 overs and open up after 15-16
16:02 overs and play for two's… Maybe 50-60 ball innings for 100-110 from their side. Means
16:09 that would be too much asking from them on such kind of matches.
16:13 Alright. Yes. So, batting coach Vikram Rathod has said that Rishabh is going to be India's
16:19 number three at least in the league stages, the group stages. That's what the message
16:24 is from the team management. So, that means, in the next match as well, we are going to
16:28 say, witness the similar batting lineup unless and until the openers give a fantastic start
16:35 to the Indian side, whether they are batting or chasing. Depending on the conditions, the
16:42 lineup might be changed or somebody like a Hardik Pandya or a Surya Kumar Yadav might
16:46 be used as a floater.
16:49 But Nilanjada, coming to the bowling aspect of the Indian side, what do you make out of
16:56 the bowling lineup that India fielded yesterday against Ireland? Do you think there was identical
17:03 spinners Akshar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja playing together in a big match like Pakistan
17:12 and a bowler where you have a lion-hearted kind of bowler in the name of Kuldeep Yadav
17:18 and the Yuzveder Chahal who would actually flourish on such slow tracks? And because
17:24 you played the first match with Akshar and Jadeja, you are not going to just tamper with
17:31 the playing 11 in the very next match. So, do you think the bowling attack, especially
17:36 the spin department was okay, decent? They did perform. But there could have been a better
17:44 thinking in terms of spin department?
17:49 That's for me? You are asking me?
17:51 Yes.
17:52 Yes. Yes.
17:53 See, the logic behind what I see, the logic behind Akshar and Jadeja playing out there
18:00 is because of the pitches and the batting abilities. That's what I believe the team
18:04 management kind of backed among all these spinners and the bowlers which they have.
18:10 Obviously, the other spinners who are there in the play are not equally as good batters
18:14 as Akshar and Ravindra Jadeja. Maybe the kind of pitches, they are not having a Yashashvili
18:19 Jaiswal up at the top. They are kind of tampering with the… I won't say tampering, kind
18:27 of experimenting with the top and the middle order and maybe I find my answer myself as
18:33 to why both of them were played is because they can add some stability where all the
18:38 top order fails. There will be days where the top order may be failing on such pitches.
18:42 So we have someone extra cushion. Maybe that's the reason they are opting for. On such pitches,
18:48 will that be enough against Pakistan? Well, I would obviously from the old school of thought
18:53 want specialists, better spinners, match winners, especially as bowlers to be coming in place
18:59 of Akshar Patil if that's a hint. But there's always a balance which the team management
19:03 is wanting to strike as it seems on the surface right at the present moment.
19:08 Shakya, does this… the cushion as Nilanjan Dutta just mentioned about, also somewhere
19:16 down the line hints that there's a defensive approach as Innal Da was talking about some
19:22 time back. We are still scared of bringing out our front-line spinner into the attack
19:28 because there's a fear that one fine day our batting top order might not be firing
19:36 the way it fires or batting the way it bats. And we might have to rely on the lower middle
19:42 order or the tail-enders.
19:44 So I'll add to what Nilanjan Dutta said with some examples of past ICC tournaments.
19:52 If you look at the semi-final against New Zealand in 2019, the league match against
19:59 Pakistan in the 2021 World Cup and the final last year, our first five batters were right-handers.
20:09 And when we lose a lot of quick wickets, there was always a suggestion that you have to break
20:17 the rhythm and send a left-hander somewhere. Unfortunately, our left-hander came in at
20:23 number 7, which is Ravindra Jadeja. It was the case in the 2019 World Cup and it was
20:29 the case in the 2023 World Cup as well. Jadeja came up above Surya in the 2023 World Cup
20:36 but didn't make an impact.
20:38 So maybe, I don't know if this is coming from the management, maybe that's the reason
20:43 why Rishabh Pant has been placed at number 3. To bring in a left-hander, to bring in
20:48 a left-hander. Because otherwise, he could have been coming in at number 5. Because sometimes
20:53 having a left-hander can break the rhythm. I mean, the collapses that we've had, you
21:03 know, three quick wickets fell when Rohit and Shreyas got out in the 2023 World Cup.
21:11 Or that collapse that we had against Pakistan or the 2019 World Cup semi-final. We could
21:15 not bring in a left-hander. We could not bring in a left-hander because our left-hander was
21:19 Ravindra Jadeja in the lower order. So, there was Rishabh Pant also there. But Rishabh Pant
21:24 was not used to batting at number 3. He's probably more experienced to bat at number
21:29 3 now. So, I can see that. As for the adding spin depth, could be that they have assessed
21:39 the conditions in USA as being SEMA-friendly, the opposition you're going to play. And maybe
21:46 we'll have to see when this leg moves to West Indies if this is what they want to carry
21:51 on doing. So, I mean, ideally, I would like to see Kuldeep or Chahal as the front-line
21:58 spinner and not Aksar there. Because I mean, I saw some shows recently where people were
22:04 predicting Kuldeep to be the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. So, I mean, for him to
22:08 suddenly be left out and the World Cup that he had before this is quite surprising. But
22:15 I think that we'll have to wait and watch till we move to the West Indies. Because I
22:20 do think by the time we move to West Indies, we'll get a better idea of the pitchers. I
22:23 think one of our front-line spinners, Kuldeep or Chahal will come in there.
22:28 And Indian team made it very clear. You know, Indian team made it very clear by putting
22:36 Virat as an opener. That is, they want to keep two factors in mind. Left-right combination
22:42 and also some firepower. You have a Shivam Dubey, you have a Hardik Pandya, you name
22:48 it. They can all tong the ball at will. They can hit sixes standing on the crease against
22:53 slow bowlers. But only player I am finding a little misfit is Surya Kumar Yadav. He is
22:58 actually struggling on the pitch where the ball doesn't come to the bat. And that's where
23:02 I think India might get a little troubled. Because he is batting in a very important
23:07 position on days when Rishabh would get out, Virat would get out, Rohit would get out early.
23:13 Surya would have to play a very important role. But does he have it in him? Because
23:17 we have seen him in big tournaments. He has actually not found his feet as strong as he
23:24 should have found. He should have found his feet long time ago in big matches. He has
23:29 been playing for a while. We know he is a gutsy cricketer. He is number one T20 player.
23:34 But ultimately, what matters, why we are here talking about the pitch battle is because
23:39 we want India to win. And that is essential. Number four position is very important. No
23:44 matter how much firepower you have at the top, bottom, in the later half, back end of
23:49 the innings, whatever happens. But number four, if you look back and turn the history
23:53 pages of Indian cricket, you will see number four is the most important position.
23:57 Yuvraj Singh, Yashpal Sharma in '83, he is no more with us. We lost him two years ago.
24:03 He was the one who played that knock in the same final against England. So, it's important
24:08 that you have the best player, I mean, a player at number four doing the job. You have seen
24:13 him struggle so much. You know, Indian T20, that number four position. But this time,
24:19 we can see a change of thought. We can see that firepower, one after the other. One goes,
24:24 then other one will come and start hammering the ball, which is what Australian did. You
24:28 don't worry. Get out. There will be Abhinash, there will be Mr. Dutta, who will do the job.
24:34 If they can't do, then Shakya will come and do the job. That's the kind of teamwork we
24:38 are talking about. That's why we call it pitch battle.
24:40 Okay. So, there were no surprises in performance from Hardik Pandya, if we can talk about him
24:50 a little bit more. He is a different beast altogether when he dons that India jersey,
24:56 Dada. And last night, what we saw from him, a wicket in the first over ended up being the
25:03 best bowler of the day. Obviously, Jasprit Bumrah being Jasprit Bumrah and doing Jasprit Bumrah
25:10 things. He deserved to get the Man of the Match award. But Hardik Pandya actually made the
25:16 difference for India with the ball. And the debate and the doubts of who is going to be the fourth
25:23 fast bowler. In fact, on some days, he could be the third fast bowler for India when you are going
25:29 to play with an extra spinner. He just came, he just saw and he just conquered.
25:36 Absolutely. I would like to ask Mr. Dutta about this particular question. When you
25:44 see the national colour, we know how he was booed during IPL. And when he sees the national colour,
25:50 something happens to him. Mr. Dutta, if you can tell us about Hardik Pandya. He is someone who
25:56 is not liked by many because the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he plays his game,
25:59 the flamboyance, the kind of swagger he has got. A lot of people in India don't like him.
26:05 But still, he is Hardik Pandya. He is still there. He is the vice-captain. And I am also hearing
26:12 the fact that Pant is batting one down. Pandya, the vice-captain, also played a role in that,
26:17 probably. Your thoughts on Hardik Pandya, as Avinash said. Mr. Dutta, how do you see this man
26:23 coming along? Because he has really hit the rock bottom in the IPL.
26:26 Indro is being diplomatic. All of the questions, he is just deflecting it to me.
26:32 Trying to play from the non-striker end. Not fair. Not fair.
26:40 I am lucky to be on the pitch battle side, basically.
26:43 People do not like Hardik Pandya. How does it matter? He is Hardik Pandya. He is playing for
26:54 the country. People who do not like Hardik Pandya, are they playing for the country? Have they ever
26:59 played for their state or in most cases, their district association? They haven't.
27:04 People may have their own opinions. In a country as India, 1.4 billion people.
27:08 I may not like X, Y, Z. How does it matter? People may not like me. How does it matter?
27:12 So, we are on the show. People watching this show will say, "How does he know? I can speak better
27:18 than him. I know better. Why should I call him? What difference does it make?"
27:22 So, Hardik Pandya is a match-winner. He is a future India captain. Make no mistake about that.
27:28 People were after his life in the IPL and it got to him. People say that playing at home has its
27:35 own advantages. I have been connected with the national team of a different sport for so many
27:39 years. I travel with them and I tell all of you, the entire world, players actually like to play
27:46 abroad. There is less pressure. And it's not about just wearing the national colours. Hardik
27:53 Pandya is a very passionate cricketer who wants to express himself on the field. People watch the
27:58 national team with much more pride and unity. Maybe that's the reason we link ourselves more
28:04 with Hardik's performances in the national team colours rather than watching him play for the
28:10 Gujarat Titans or the Mumbai Indians. The maturity of Hardik Pandya, people when questioned, just go
28:17 back to the two years he was there with the Gujarat Titans. Did anyone, all of his haters, ever expect
28:23 Hardik Pandya to show that kind of maturity which we showed in the IPL? People may now dismiss the
28:29 IPL. IPL is IPL. Did the rest of the players win the IPL? Did they come for the first time as
28:35 captains and win the first year of the inception of the team? They didn't. So that's the maturity
28:40 level which he can attain. And I believe it's not his peak maturity which he can attain. And make
28:47 no mistake, if Indian cricket is not just to win this T20 World Cup or go to a different level in
28:53 the next few years, the main X-factor for the Indian national team won't be Rishabh Pant, won't
29:00 be Surya Kumar Yadav. It will be Hardik Pandya. That's my assessment. People may not agree.
29:06 But since I am on this show, I will stick out my neck and say that he's been experiencing,
29:11 knows what is required to deliver at the international level. Now it's his maturity,
29:17 his intensity, his discipline and his application. All of that he has with a bit of luck.
29:23 And just going on and on and on and keeping everything aside, which is the most difficult
29:29 job for any international player, Hardik Pandya is here to stay. And if we are to win this tournament,
29:35 he can turn out to be the Ibrahim Raj Singh for Team India.
29:38 Exactly. He will be the Ibrahim Raj Singh.
29:41 Absolutely. I want to add one point. When Hardik is playing,
29:46 Shakya and Avinash, you can answer that. There are 12 players on the field. Because
29:52 you remember when he walked out of the 2023 World Cup, India, generally one person walks out,
29:58 another person walk in. India had to make two changes. They got Shammi, they got Surya Kumar
30:03 Yadav in Day 11. So, that's the… And he is right in assessing Mr. Hardik Pandya's presence,
30:10 what he brings to the table. It's absolutely something superb.
30:13 Yes, Shakya.
30:19 Shakya.
30:20 Yeah, Hardik Pandya has a very unique skill set. I think it's a kind of skill set which
30:24 India has not had from any cricketer, I guess, since the great Kapil Dev has retired. And I'm
30:31 not comparing Hardik Pandya to Kapil Dev. But you can see that why he is… He can bat from anywhere
30:42 from 3 to 7 in India. He bats at number 6. But he is very capable of batting in the park. He can
30:47 come in and bat at number 4. He can bowl. He can open the bowling. He is a very good fielder.
30:52 And he has now added captaincy to his repertoire as well. Unfortunately, it didn't go very well
30:57 for him in Mumbai Indians. But that's also because he was working with players who he had… It was
31:02 as if the dynamics were different. And I'm not going to get into that. But I think Hardik Pandya,
31:09 with the skill set he provides, and if the team gels, if they can get their dynamics right,
31:14 him at number 6 and Jadeja at number 7. And of course, the players above them, Pant,
31:22 the two stalwarts, Rohit and Virat. So, it's not… I don't think Hardik is going to single-handedly…
31:31 If you have to win the tournament, it has to be done single-handedly by Hardik. But I think if
31:37 11 on the field gel and we can find that spot where Hardik can make that contribution,
31:45 definitely we give ourselves a very good chance of going all the way. And Rishabh Pant, who is not
31:52 there in the 50-over World Cup, he is there now. That's a big bonus that we have right now. And
31:56 at some point, I think Kuldeep Yadav will come back to this side. I always maintain this. I think
32:01 Kuldeep Yadav is an X-factor as well. And maybe yesterday's pitch was more pace-friendly,
32:07 wanted that extra batting cover. But I think when the tournament moves to Western knees,
32:11 I see Kuldeep Yadav coming back. Because I always believe that Kuldeep Yadav is a huge X-factor.
32:16 And Jaspreet Bumrah is there as well. Jaspreet Bumrah was not there in the
32:23 T20 World Cup two years ago.
32:26 Yes. So, Jaspreet Bumrah, Arsh Sreep Singh and Mohd Siraj, the trio bowled today. But
32:34 let's just keep Bumrah aside. Between Arsh Sreep and Siraj, who has done better and who should be,
32:46 if we think of playing with just three fast bowlers, what will be your pick?
32:55 No, I would definitely go for a variation. Arsh Sreep, the kind of wickets he has taken
33:01 between the 22 World Cup and 24 T20 World Cup, which has just started. Arsh Sreep is right up
33:08 there in terms of… And he has performed at domestic cricket also. He has done well for Punjab.
33:13 I think they won the Vijay Hazare Trophy, if I'm not mistaken. Arsh Sreep was one of the four
33:18 wickets in the final, if I can vaguely remember. He has done well and he is doing well. Only thing
33:23 is, he has got to be a little disciplined with his line, which is completely… He tries to
33:28 cram the style without offering any room to the batters. He tries to follow that
33:36 bad line, that body line, which is at times a little dicey because the batsmen are equally
33:43 skilled to play the onside shots and standing and delivering those pick-up shots. Those are
33:49 very dangerous shots. So, bullying to the body. I don't know. Arsh Sreep was very lucky. He bowled
33:55 beautifully in that match against RCB in that play-off. Very bold, that line. And he was man
34:00 of the match. Got two wickets. Gave away like 14-16 odd runs. He is not part of the team,
34:05 Arsh Sreep. But I am just saying, the line which Arsh Sreep bowls, it's kind of a dicey line
34:10 in international cricket. You have to be really quick to actually hit the body. The body line,
34:15 we talked about the previous generation of cricketers. They used to have a series on TV,
34:21 watching that body line series. So, body line is dangerous. But Arsh Sreep is… Any day I am
34:26 going to pick him. Arsh Sreep, Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Hardik is absolutely brilliant. The way
34:31 he bowls. And he was struggling. Four balls, he bowled to Dhoni. Went for 20 runs. And look,
34:38 the same Hardik Pandya, when he is playing for India, is a different kettle of fish. So,
34:42 that's something which Mr Dutta also pointed out. It actually matches. He is a different beast when
34:49 it comes to playing for India. And he is our future T20 captain after this season. So, hopefully,
34:54 things will move forward and it will be a lot smoother, calmer. And he has got depth, let me
34:58 tell you. He is a 3D player. Good captain, good batter, bowler and a fielder.
35:08 Okay. Let's talk about the upcoming match. Pakistan are playing hosts USA today and
35:18 tonight in the evening. But before the tournament started, a lot of off-field controversies have,
35:26 as usual, hit the Pakistani team. Former cricketers are criticizing them for picking
35:33 certain players. Some are saying they have not picked the right combination of players
35:38 for a crucial tournament. In fact, the loss against England, only last week, the series loss,
35:48 was also, I mean, dampened the morale of Pakistan cricket fans. But today,
35:54 they are going to face the associate nation, Minnows USA. But yes, as we were talking about
36:01 the T20 format being a lottery format, anyone can beat anyone on their day.
36:06 But what can we expect from Pakistan tonight in the Lilda?
36:11 Well, I hope they do well and get some practice, which India also did against Ireland and
36:20 Bangladesh prior to the match. The Ireland match, they played the warm-up match. Pakistan, hopefully,
36:29 will get some good practice before they come and face us on 9th, which is Sunday. We are all
36:34 geared up for that game, actually. We are not thinking about the US so much as much as
36:38 we are thinking about Pakistan. Pakistan is a good side. And I will tell you why. Because they have
36:42 a good bowling attack. They are consistent. They have quick bowling attack. They can really bowl
36:47 quick. Fast bowlers are not about bowling swing also. It's bowling quick. So, they have that
36:55 element to it. I mean, element to their side, which is very important. They have been a force
36:59 to reckon with over the years. Because they have been good fast bowlers in that side. So, how we
37:04 are going to face Pakistani fast bowlers on a wicket like this, which is going up and down.
37:10 If I were Rohit Sharma, I would not have a peaceful sleep. Let me tell you that.
37:15 Nishab is different. He will probably use his skill set. He has got a lot of time. He is young.
37:21 And so is the other batters in the lineup. But how… I mean, this is going to be quite a battle,
37:27 actually. If you play on a wicket like this. Because we are so used to playing on concrete
37:31 kind of wicket. This is a new beginning chapter. Because what we were taught at the early age is,
37:38 learn to play on any kind of pitch. And that's why it's called pitch battle.
37:49 Okay. So, fine gentlemen. Thank you for your time. It's been quite a thoughtful conversation
37:56 that we have had. And when we catch up next time, hopefully, we will have something else. Some
38:04 more action must have transpired on the cricket pitches. Let's see. Let's wait whether ICC would
38:12 come up with some suggestions or some damage control, which has been done by the New York
38:18 pitch before the high-profile India-Pakistan match happens. But before that, let me just
38:27 thank you all my guests here for taking out their time. And we hope that the pitches that are on
38:35 offer, they just continue to be the low-scoring ones because there is no fun in watching a high-scoring
38:41 game of T20 cricket. Because the lesser the runs, the dangerous the opposition can also be. And the
38:48 pitches are adding a different flavor to this competition as far as the US mainland pitches
38:54 are concerned. Thank you. Thank you. Pleasure.