IPL 2021 in UAE: Gulf News readers, experts chat on the IPL double-header
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00:00Hello, a very good evening to you. This is Gautam Bhattacharya from Gulf News. Here we
00:14are to present you our show of straight back with Anish Sajjan, Mr. Cricket UAE. With me
00:20this evening is my colleague A.K. Satish and the two strong supporters who never let the
00:26flag down even in times of crisis. I mean, I've got Sai Prasad of Mumbai, the Invincible
00:32Mumbai and of course, Shah Inayat of Hyderabad. Hi, good evening. You know, my first question
00:40to Anish obviously, it will be a pity that you know, this group will not be there when
00:48they reassemble after the mega auction. So how was their journey? How have they achieved?
00:53I mean, we were hoping against hope that if something happens, that didn't happen ultimately.
00:59So what's your take on that?
01:02Thank you, Gautam. Hi, Satish. Hi, Sai. Hello to the other fan who's also there with us
01:08Inayat if I'm not wrong. Anyway, you know what, since you asked me about Mumbai game
01:14and the moment they won the toss, I had a gut feeling that they will go for it. They
01:19will have the intent. And the way Ishan Kishan started, it was like the old Ishan Kishan
01:24we wanted to see, the big bash Ishan Kishan and then the splendid innings by Surya Kumar
01:29Yadav. They played innings which was jaw-dropping. I had no words and I always believed that
01:37Mumbai had it in them. And trust me, had they made that backdoor entry and as all of us
01:42we are saying, if they make that backdoor entry, Mumbai would have been hard to stop.
01:45But you can't take it away from KKR. They were the deserved team to go into the next
01:50round. Mumbai might feel that they were robbed off by RR, but the better team went into the
01:55next round. But full marks to Mumbai for showing intent and giving it the fight.
02:01I'll just quickly come to Satish before moving on to our two fans for the show. Satish, the
02:09two innings of Ishan Kishan and Surya, they were both scored in their 80s, but still they
02:16were slightly different in their approach. I mean, Ishan was as if he was a kind of a
02:22video game replay in motion. And Surya was finding all the angles, his pick-up shots,
02:30straight down the ground. So how do you assess these two innings coming before the world
02:34capacities?
02:35Gautam, they played true to their potential. Ishan Kishan is known to hit those big hits
02:42and then he used to play those daring shots. And Surya Kumar was an accumulator. He finds
02:48these spaces and he's a kind of a traditional Test match cricket, one-day cricket T20 player.
02:56So he's a very traditional player. So this is exactly the approach they generally would
03:03do. And they've done it in the past. Unfortunately, it's coming in a bit too late. Maybe this
03:07is the way they should have played a few games earlier. Even if 50% of this, if they had
03:13done something, they would have at least got one more win under the belt, which would have
03:17given them that extra two points, would have helped them to go further. And yeah, as Anil
03:27Bhai said, this was a mind-boggling knocks from Mumbai and the way they approached. That's
03:33for no reason. They are four-time defending champions. They showed it. They had it in
03:38them. That's attitude five. Sorry, five. They had it in them. And then maybe, that's what,
03:45somewhere it didn't click in the UAE leg especially, which I'm sure they would draw their drawbacks
03:54as they go by.
03:56Yeah, Sai, I'll just come to you. Talking about Mumbai, I mean, you see, that aura of
04:04invincibility, which they had built over the years, that seemed to have been lacking even
04:10in the India leg. They were, the middle order was failing to click. Then the bowlers,
04:15in fact, I remember Chahar was very good during that leg. So they managed to defend those targets.
04:21Anyway, in the end, it didn't happen. So how do you assess the performance? I mean,
04:26two titles of two back-to-back titles, only two teams have done so far, MI and Chennai.
04:34And that is for some reason, they're quite the most consistent teams out there.
04:38So overall, what's your assessment as a fan and how do you look forward to 2022?
04:43See, first of all, I think they need to go back to the dressing room and see, look at the combination
04:48and what they need to do. Because sometimes they get mixed up with the combinations
04:52and either it goes with Kunal Pandya and they're giving too much reliance on Kunal Pandya and
04:56Hardik Pandya. Though they are the stars, young stars, but they are giving too much
04:59reliance on that. And they must try for some revisiting the combinations. And also they must
05:05see, I mean, as before we were talking about the intent from day one, there should be from
05:10the day one, there should be an intent in the game. And I mean, from the first game itself,
05:14they lost the first three matches of the UAE. I mean, I think they lost it there,
05:19but they came back very well. And I'm very happy for Ishaan Krishnan and Surya Kumar Yadav.
05:24They were a wee bit out of form in the first two matches, but once they've come back, it was
05:28fantastic. And again, now the auctions coming up, it'll be a difficult choice for them whom
05:33they need to retain and whom they may need to give up. So it's going to be a challenge for them.
05:38Yes. And I'll just quickly ask you that, you know, if you are to retain three Indians,
05:43that is the talking side, two or three. See, one or two are no brainers, whom would you like to retain?
05:49Rohit, Ishaan and Bumrah, I would go for these three.
05:56Okay, I'll come to you now. A rather disappointing performance from Sunrisers. I mean, ever since
06:02they came in this avatar, they used to be one of the most consistent teams. I mean, I think five
06:07playoffs they did in eight years, seven years, and this is the eighth year, and one title. So we know
06:16that a number of things have gone wrong. So how should the team rebuild? I mean, what should
06:21they do in the next mega auction? What's your take, Ishaan? Again, you know, the mega auction,
06:27they have to first go for the middle order, because I think SRH middle order is the weakest in
06:34all teams. First, they should be concentrating on buying some Indian players. Again,
06:41because we don't have any recognized batting player who is playing for India or
06:48playing in Ranji and playing very good. We have a very young talent. Yes, Samad is playing. Yes,
06:55Priyamgu, today he played well. Abhishek, yes, he is playing good. But still, they don't have
07:00experience wherein they can put Sunrisers out of any situation where they need to go and
07:08explode like today Ishaan Kishan and Surya Kumar did. So they have to focus first on middle order.
07:15Then again, they have to go for openers too. I think Warner might not play next season. They have
07:21to go for... Bestow will be there. I think they should retain Bestow and they have to think about
07:25Williamson as a captain. I would like to have an Indian captain so that they have an option of
07:31overseas players where they can rotate. One more player. They have Rashid. He has to be there in
07:38team anyhow because he is the most consistent bowler who is performing for all the seasons.
07:44Again, the middle order and the openers might be a concern for SRH.
07:49These are the slots. I will come back to our cricket.
07:56You see, the mega auction is a subject which will need a separate episode, I think, for us.
08:03But if we look at the qualifier and then the eliminator, so Delhi versus Chennai.
08:12Delhi have lost today's game and they have lost surprisingly tamely. And then you have got
08:17RCB versus KKR, which can be quite an intriguing clash. So there is a day's gap in between.
08:24But I would like to pick your brains as to what do you see in the coming two days,
08:30those 10th and 11th. You know, Gautam, I was debating on the other show and they asked me,
08:37who is your pick? To be very honest, all four teams have some weaknesses. If I have to talk about CSK,
08:43apart from the openers, the middle order has been struggling. The bowling has been decent,
08:47but the middle order has been badly struggling. Now, Delhi, the bowling has been their biggest
08:52strength. But I'm afraid Ashwin is probably the weak link in the team because he's so far not
08:58come good in this tournament. And even their batting, if you talk about generally it's the
09:02Dhawans and the Ayers and if you talk about Prithvi Shaw giving them the runs, the middle order
09:08bearing one knock from Hetmayar, which he was dropped in that game. Now we talk about KKR,
09:14this is one team which looks dangerous. Apart from Morgan, everybody seems to be on form.
09:19And if Dreyrus comes into the side, I'm not sure he's injury free or no, but if he comes into the
09:25side, they are the most potent and dangerous side. And when it comes to RCB, it's been the
09:30big show, rather the Maxwell show. And if AB de Villiers fires, I know there are no ifs and buts,
09:36but if AB de Villiers fires, RCB is a threat to watch. But if I have to pick one thing,
09:40I would back KKR out of the four. I had said CSK earlier, but now CSK,
09:45I believe have peaked too early and they look very bad if the openers go early.
09:52That's a very interesting point, Manish Bhai. But before moving on, I'd also like to ask you that
09:58in the RCB batting lineup, in the middle order, people used to call that it was a two-person team.
10:06But the way Maxie has come to the party, I mean, this was his 6th 15. So, he didn't, you know,
10:12he more than made up for AB's not being in particularly good form. Today, he scored
10:18some 26. But, you know, it's a low-stake match. But what do you feel about this new wicketkeeper
10:24batsman, Shikhar Bharat? He's a product of domestic cricket. And he looks, he doesn't have any nerves.
10:30What do you make of it? You know what, Gautam, to be very honest, in, I think, five, six games
10:37ago when he was playing, I had in fact asked one of you guys that why is he in the team?
10:42Does he deserve a place in the team? He shut my mouth today by playing in innings under pressure.
10:48After having lost both Padikkal and Bharat, he took the responsibility on his shoulders.
10:54And like you mentioned, AB de Villiers is still not finding his rhythm with the bat. And with
10:58Maxwell putting on 100 runs, and that six which he scored reminded me of the six with Javed
11:03Mehar that scored of the last ball of Chetan Sharma. It was a full-toss. The only difference
11:07that went over the mid-wicket is that this went straight over the bowler's head. But having said
11:12that, I'm happy today AB de Villiers came on to bat. Because that crucial 26, more than the 26
11:19runs, he batted 26 balls or 25 balls, whatever balls. That was batting time was required. And
11:24that will give him some confidence. Because time spent on the crease helps you when you go on.
11:29And of course, Maxwell's show is amazing. And if Bharat comes to the party, it's going to be fun
11:35for RCB. And I hope they sign off with a win, just because it will give them confidence for
11:40Team India, because he's going to sign off with Team India in the World Cup.
11:46Well, Satish, your dispassionate thoughts on Chennai, Delhi and RCB KKR.
11:55Sorry, Gautam. The advantage with all these three teams which you have said,
12:00there is openers who are firing. There is one person in the middle-order. And there is one
12:04person later in the middle-order. If you look at Chennai, the openers are firing. In between,
12:08there is, say, Jadeja or somebody who comes in at that number three, number four slot,
12:18comes in. And then comes in later on as Jadeja comes and finishes it. Similarly, KKR has these
12:25three sets of players who are on form, I'm talking about. And RCB also. So these three teams are
12:32quite good. And at last, finally, it is on that day, how you handle the pressure
12:38is what makes it the difference. And there I would go with CSK, because they have done this
12:45of all the teams apart from Mumbai, it's CSK who has handled the pressure much better than
12:51anybody else. So I would go with CSK for the first game. Because today under pressure Delhi
12:58couldn't do, didn't know how to handle it. So that shows that there is a weak link there as well,
13:03apart from the bowling or batting or whatever you can call it on the field. But there is mental
13:08approach which makes it that go that extra yard to the finish line. I would say CSK has got that
13:15advantage over the rest. Of course, with teams like Kohli and AB and Maxwell, I would also keep
13:23RCB my other favorite as another potent team that can win their match against KKR.
13:31Right. Okay. I'll come to Sai. Yes. Your prediction for the two, for the playoff,
13:38the qualifier and the eliminator?
13:41My heart says RCB, my head says KKR. RCB because RCB is Virat Kohli and it's his last
13:48IPL tournament as a captain. So probably the players 200 or plus matches in for RCB.
13:55All the players may gang up again with the josh to give him a send-off. KKR because they've got
14:00the best three strikers, they've got the best three strikers and the best three bowlers also.
14:04I mean, Kitesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi and all coming to the party.
14:09And also Mavi and Chakravarthy and also doing very well.
14:15And what about DC and Chennai? That's the qualifier. I mean,
14:20so you win that and you get into the final.
14:24It will be Chennai, definitely. It will be Chennai. So Chennai will take over DC because DCA is coming
14:29down. Right. Inayat, a quick word from you on the prediction for these two games.
14:39You know, both teams I'm supporting actually playing against each other, you know, RCB and KKR.
14:45You know, anyone who wins, no matter what, I will be disheartened because I just want Kohli to win
14:51and I also want KKR to win. Don't say let cricket be the winner. I want predictions from you.
14:59The two predictions. Thank God he didn't say Hyderabad should win.
15:05Next season. KKR, KKR, KKR. I want to go with KKR.
15:10OK. First match and for second, I think Delhi will, you know, definitely,
15:15they will try their best. But Chennai is more experienced than them.
15:19Gautam, we want your answer now and why? Yeah, correct.
15:23I think for the Chennai-Delhi match, I would by and large go with the same reasons which Satish
15:30has offered. I mean, if Delhi can cross this hurdle, see, there is no Bombay in front of them.
15:35I mean, if they can cross this hurdle, they've got a very good chance of ending their
15:39title drawn because for three years they've done quite well. But still, I would give Chennai that
15:45big match temperament a bit of edge. And for the RCB-KKR match, well, the heart and head both
15:52says KKR. So let us see how it goes. It's been a very good comeback. Yeah, very good comeback.
15:59Who will win the cup? Cup? Yes.
16:04See, KKR's journey once again in 2014 started from the UAE. So it acted as a lucky charm. That's
16:11why they've gone and staying in Abu Dhabi once again. So let's see how it goes. I will leave
16:16it hanging at that. Thank you so much, Anisbhai, for your time. Thank you, Satish.
16:24Thank you, Nayeth and Sai for staying up late. We are almost there. Thanks once again for your time.
16:32Excellent day, very entertaining day for cricket. Superb.
16:38So the final day produced lots of runs. I mean, it's a pity that you couldn't watch
16:43both simultaneously, but they had their reason to do that. So thank you so much.