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Unraveling India's Triumph: A Deep Dive into the 2025 Champions Trophy
A comprehensive analysis of the recently concluded 2025 Champions Trophy reveals the remarkable journey of Team India, culminating in their triumphant victory under the astute leadership of Rohit Sharma. Throughout the tournament, India displayed an unparalleled level of consistency, remaining unbeaten and demonstrating a depth of talent that has become the hallmark of contemporary Indian cricket. The hosts, Benny and Mayank, delve into various narratives emerging from the tournament, including the stellar performances of individual players, the strategic acumen displayed by the Indian team management, and the implications of India's victory for the future of limited-overs cricket. They reflect on the evolution of Rohit Sharma as a captain and the legacy he is building within the sport, juxtaposing this with discussions on the potential future of key players like Virat Kohli and the younger generation poised to take over the mantle. Ultimately, the episode serves as a celebration of Indian cricket's current dominance while also pondering the inevitable transitions that lie ahead. The hosts further explore the dynamics of other participating teams, including New Zealand's perennial struggle in finals, the inconsistent performances of Pakistan, and Afghanistan's promising trajectory in international cricket, providing listeners with a multifaceted understanding of the tournament's landscape.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to the Last Wicket.
Speaker A:I'm your host Benny.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us.
Speaker A:On today's episode we are going to be discussing the conclusion of the recent Champions Trophy where Rohit Sharma's men claim the claim the win claimed the trophy.
Speaker A:And there's just so much to talk about.
Speaker A:Not just about Team India but about all the other different, all the other teams that took part in the tournament, the narratives that came out of the Champions Trophy and some of the players who really had a tournament to remember.
Speaker A:So joining me for this episode is my co host Mayank.
Speaker A:We don't really get to be on the same episode as much anymore.
Speaker A:It's always something popping up that only one of us is available.
Speaker A:But we are here, the OG hosts, just the two of us, no special guests.
Speaker A:But I think it's been an eventful tournament.
Speaker A:Eventful.
Speaker A:Just so, so much to talk about.
Speaker A:So we'll just get started straight away.
Speaker A:So Mike, thanks for joining the call today.
Speaker B:Good to be back, Benny.
Speaker B:Good to finally get a chance to talk to you after a while.
Speaker B:I feel like we've been talking to people but yeah, just our schedules have been all over the place.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And that's why our episodes are not always as frequent as we would like them to be.
Speaker A:But it's always nice to chat cricket and nice chat cricket with you and I feel this is a great opportunity for once to talk about something that's really good, good news for Indian cricket fans that is because a lot of the times we do episodes where we talk about what is going wrong in cricket.
Speaker A:I mean we're not even going to talk about India's recent test struggles.
Speaker A:But it is funny.
Speaker A:We'll start off with the win itself.
Speaker A:So Rohit Sharma is creating quite a legacy for himself as limited over skipper.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A: not winning the World cup in: Speaker A:But since then they've claimed the 20 over World cup and now in which they were unbeaten and then they've now claimed the Champions Trophy win where they were also unbeaten.
Speaker A:So it is quite an impressive legacy that Ro Sharma is creating along with the team management, along with the players.
Speaker A:Now what do you make of this win for the Indian team and how reflective do you think it is of just the players that are in the Indian team right now?
Speaker B:I, I think that that record is just a great indication of the depth of the that Indian cricket has right now.
Speaker B:If you look at you know, you already mentioned the World cup, you already mentioned the T20 World Cup.
Speaker B:In all of those scenarios before the start of the tournament, it was fairly clear that India were the favorites.
Speaker B:I think maybe in the World cup there was slightly less hype because again, we don't play as many ODIs as, you know, we're used to.
Speaker B:So that's why it was a little bit harder to figure out which team is really inform and all of that, which was true for this Champions trophy as well.
Speaker B:But overall, just the depth has been so incredible to think about the fact that the best player in the world, Jaspeet Bumra, was not even available and India still won fairly comfortably.
Speaker B:It just speaks, you know, it just speaks about the depth that Indian cricket has right now.
Speaker B:And clearly the systems are in place.
Speaker B:You know, right from Ravi Shastri's time.
Speaker B:You know, there was a lot of, initially there was a lot of talk about how he's just this guy who doesn't have a clue and he's always drinking and having a good time.
Speaker A:But hey, I used to call him a glorified cheerleader for the Indian team when he first started out.
Speaker A:So I've changed my mind since then.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And you were not alone.
Speaker B:Like a lot of us were like, I don't really understand what he does.
Speaker B:And his messaging and his, even his style of talking, talking was, was, you know, something that wasn't always appreciated.
Speaker B:Since then we've had a Dravid era and now we're in the Gotham Gambir era.
Speaker B:None of these times we'll, we'll come across, you know, a scenario where, yeah, everything is going perfect.
Speaker B:Obviously there will be ups and downs because there are other really good teams out there.
Speaker B:And you know, these men as, as amazing as they are, as knowledgeable as they are, they will make mistakes.
Speaker B:So it's, it's totally fine.
Speaker B:But, but yeah, it's just been a very strong tradition in general in terms of when Ravi Shastri was coach, Dravid was at NCA and the under 19 teams.
Speaker B:Then Lakshman started doing that when Dravid became the senior coach.
Speaker B:So that communication, that sort of monitoring has been really solid.
Speaker B:And obviously this has decreased a little bit post Covid.
Speaker B:But pre Covid, we also had a lot of a team tours which were obviously really valuable because you know, they would tour just before the senior team would tour and in case there were injuries or anything like that, we would have somebody who's ready to step in and, and get into the playing 11.
Speaker B:So just you know, depth wise, it's insane.
Speaker B:You can think about somebody like Rishabh Pant, who is such a phenomenal player, and the fact that he had no chance of making this 11, like, I was surprised he even made it to the 15.
Speaker B:That's just insane.
Speaker A:What strikes me about this team is how clinical they are.
Speaker A:There was never a game where they did not start as favorites and there was never a situation in any of their games where you felt that India were losing control.
Speaker A:They were probably stretched at different points in the tournament.
Speaker A:But I never got the sense like, oh, this is like the tide is turned or India's gonna lose.
Speaker A:There was always a feeling like, oh, this person is still there.
Speaker A:Or, you know, either in batting or even the voting, oh, this person is gonna come back.
Speaker A:This person still has a few hours left.
Speaker A:There's always a sense of like, they got this.
Speaker A: s, early: Speaker A:Or they needed like two wickets and the target is still like 60 runs away, like, you just never took it for granted.
Speaker A:They won the game because you knew that they could always mess it up.
Speaker A:So there was always that sense of, you know, yeah, India's playing well, but they could still lose.
Speaker A:But now I just feel I never am stressed as a fan, as a fan of the team.
Speaker A:You know, like even in the final, as convincing as that final score line eventually turned out to be, there were moments where India were losing wickets at different intervals that you felt like, oh, this might be.
Speaker A:And even you could even hear the commentators saying, oh, is this the moment when New Zealand find their way back?
Speaker A:But India always had someone who could like step in and take the game forward for them.
Speaker A:And that was pretty much the theme.
Speaker A:And it's not just this tournament.
Speaker A:I mean, even if you think of the T20 World cup or even the 50 over World cup last year or in 23, there's always a sense that this team is not ruffled.
Speaker A:Like, they don't, they don't panic.
Speaker A:They may lose odd game here and there occasionally, but for most part, everyone knows their roles for that given series or tournament.
Speaker A:They know what to do and they just go about their way in a very clinical and professional way.
Speaker A:And again, I just want to repeat that it is an unusual feeling.
Speaker A:But this might just be the new norm for Indian cricket fans where if we, you know, if India does Lose the odd series of tournament.
Speaker A:That does come as a shocker, which is a very good place to be in.
Speaker A:What do you think of Virat Kohli's statement that he said, you know, they're good for the next eight years.
Speaker A:Obviously there are some players who are.
Speaker A:I don't know if they'll be around for eight years but, you know, not everyone is a young gun in that team.
Speaker A:But how true do you think that statement is?
Speaker B:I think it's true to a good extent.
Speaker B:If you look at our T20 team, for example, after winning the T20 World Cup, Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli all retired and we've had the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, all these people step in and start performing and honestly that it's the best team in the world in T20s as well.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's a very unpredictable format and since Surakumar Yadav has been leading it in his 20 odd T20s that he's led, he's lost maybe three, which, which tells you in an unpredictable format where there's a lot of chances of, you know, a couple of overs going against you and you losing the game, the fact that they've managed to maintain this type of domin domination really shows that the next set of next generation of players is, you know, outstanding.
Speaker B:And yeah, so I don't think there's, you know, obviously there will be lulls because there will always be learning curves.
Speaker B:And I think that's even more so in terms of Test cricket where somebody like, you know, Shman Gil, now he's been to Australia twice, but you know, it, it takes a little bit longer to adjust to the, to, to the red ball game for, and the different challenges that that poses also because, you know, today the red ball game in general has tougher pitches and, and different conditions and all of that while limited overs.
Speaker B:Although this tournament was an exception with the pitches in Dubai, but mostly it's pretty flat.
Speaker B:So that's why, like, I think in general his statement is fairly true both in terms of ODIs and T20s where, yeah, the depth is there.
Speaker B:I think it's just about making sure they get the right opportunities.
Speaker B:And, and I mean even if you look 15 that were selected, there were five spinners in there.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, sure, a couple of them were all rounders, but they were spinners first.
Speaker B:And you know, maybe Akshay Patel you could argue is 50, 50 because he can bat super well, but J is definitely a bowler first and then a batter so we had four spinners and one spin, you know, spinning all rounder.
Speaker B:So even if you take J out because he's 36 and he's aging, there's four solid people right there.
Speaker B:And then we haven't even talked about, you know, all the other people out there.
Speaker B:Ravi Bishnoi, Rian Parag could be another, you know, he's a more batting all rounder, but there's all these amazing options out there which we haven't explored.
Speaker B:I mean, think about Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Speaker B:He's not even in this 15 and he's clearly set the world on fire in Test cricket, which, as I was just saying, is probably the most difficult format.
Speaker B:So, yeah, there's just so much to, so much depth that even with injuries, even in different conditions, they certainly have what it takes to be at least favorites are among the top two, three teams, irrespective of what tournament they go into, at least for the next five to seven years.
Speaker A:And speaking of jswell, you know, he can't really force his way into the 11 till a certain person retires or leaves that format.
Speaker A:And speaking of the next eight years, also highly, highly unlikely that he'll be around for the next eight years is Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Speaker A:And obviously I mentioned, you know, he's creating quite a legacy for himself as captain, but first and foremost, he's one of the leading batsmen in the limited overs format, if not one of the best in the history of this format.
Speaker A:Now, obviously, one of the things that I was looking for, I was following very closely in the immediate moments after India's win in the final was to see if there was going to be any news or any development because that's what happened after the T20 World cup win.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You know, we had the three retirement announcements and so I was just wondering what Roiza was going to say.
Speaker A:And I love that he just was very clear.
Speaker A:There was no, you know, kind of like a tease, like, oh, we'll see, Aria.
Speaker A:We'll, you know, take it serious by series.
Speaker A:He was just like very emphatic and said, just so there are no rumors flying around, I am not retiring.
Speaker A:You know, I love someone who can be very upfront and very straightforward.
Speaker A:But that still does lead to the question of, is that the right decision?
Speaker A:Because one of the things that, you know, especially after that recent home test series launched in New Zealand and then the last in Australia where Rhodes really struggled, there was a lot of talk about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli going forward, how can they be utilized in Team India's plans?
Speaker A:And one of the talks was that probably after the Champions trophy, probably Rohit and Kohli should retire.
Speaker A:So that gives enough time for the replacements to play themselves and settle ahead of the next 50 over World Cup.
Speaker A:But that's clearly not how these two are thinking.
Speaker A:And we can talk about Kohli too.
Speaker A:But I really wanted to focus on Rohit because he's also the captain and if you have Shimon Gill as the vice captain and if that's the natural progression you're going to follow, you want Gil to settle in as captain as well.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So if Rohit is going to decide in a year's time that he doesn't want to continue in the format and at that time he decides he doesn't want to captain anymore, that doesn't leave much time for Shubman Gill to step up as Team India captain.
Speaker A:So what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker A:Do you think this was the right call or that Rohit has earned, you know, his, you know, he, he's kind of earned this.
Speaker A:Earned the decision to kind of stay on?
Speaker B:Oh, I mean, definitely if you look at his record.
Speaker B:And that's why like there's a lot more respect for Rohit Sharma in, in recent years because it's not just that he's, you know, obviously become captain and India has won, but he's also changed the way he used to bat.
Speaker B:You know, he's made a decision to be more risk taking and when you are more risk taking, there's more chance of failure.
Speaker B:Generally people's averages drop even if their strike rate goes up.
Speaker B:Somehow he's managed to keep both of them up.
Speaker B:In fact, his, you know, in, in first and overs, his strike rate and average are ridiculously higher than his previous version.
Speaker B:So firstly respected that aspect of it and even in this tournament, including the final, he showed.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:You know, why he's, he's so good in, in tough petting conditions.
Speaker B:So he's definitely earned more time.
Speaker B:And you know, it's, it's not just about this tournament.
Speaker B:It's, it's more also about just in general, you know, the performances that they've done in ODIs.
Speaker B:Both Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma have been phenomenal, you know, so there's, I don't see there being a question of pushing them out at this point.
Speaker B:Thinking about the next World Cup.
Speaker B: It's: Speaker B:Yeah, so we're almost to 30.
Speaker B:Maybe just less than 30 months away.
Speaker B:And at that point I feel like ideally, yes, the team that goes to the World cup should have, you know, more or less played together for 18 to 24 months, ideally.
Speaker B:But having said that, there's always like, considering the talent that India has and the fact that many of them have exposure to eight hours, have exposure to IPL and high pressure situations, maybe it's slightly lesser of a risk.
Speaker B:I do definitely see that maybe one year from now they'll try to make sure that they give more chances to the likes of Jwal so that they at least test him out, see, see how he's doing, is he adjusting to the tempo of the ODI format and all of that.
Speaker B:Just to know that, okay, yep, he's definitely our backup opener.
Speaker B:And in case, you know, Rohit is injured or, or anything like that, we, we have those backups ready.
Speaker B:So I, I definitely think that for Deut Sharma and Virat Kohli, what I was really interested in was Ravinder Jadeja because it's.
Speaker B:He's again, he's 36.
Speaker B:Obviously he's one of the fittest people in the team, so it's not a fitness question.
Speaker B: s I personally felt after the: Speaker B:And I think he's done a great job of like he always does, you know, just working on nuances and just making minor tweaks to make himself effective.
Speaker B:So a lot of people would say, yeah, well, Dubai had spin, friendly cond.
Speaker B:But even before the Champions Trophy, India played England and he was phenomenal with the ball.
Speaker B:So I generally thought India should move on considering how solid Akshar Patel is, how well he's batting.
Speaker B:But yeah, Jadeja has really not given the team management any choice with his performances.
Speaker B:So another one of those which where they'll definitely not have any option but to pick him.
Speaker B:And I mean, that's the reason you talked about just having confidence as that final chase was going on or even the semi final for that matter.
Speaker B:I think the whole reason for that is we have somebody like Ja coming in at number eight.
Speaker B:Like that is just bonkers.
Speaker B:Most teams would happily take him at number seven, some might even take him at number six.
Speaker B:So the fact that we have that depth really, really does make us very strong.
Speaker B:And yeah, I mean, India should definitely milk it out as much as they can.
Speaker A:And even with, even if they, I guess even if Rohit Kohli and Jadeja were to Retire within the next, let's say, year or so.
Speaker A:I feel like there are players who can step in and not just by.
Speaker A:Not just based on their IPL experience, but just in their limited opportunities.
Speaker A:We have seen some of these players, they can step forward.
Speaker A:They just need time to settle in, go through the ups and downs and all of that.
Speaker A:So I don't envy Gotham Gambir, you know, in the next 12 to 18 months, he's gonna, you know, he's gonna be.
Speaker A:He's gonna have to take some calls, you know, which if it doesn't go well, you know, everyone knows who to target.
Speaker A:So it's an interesting time.
Speaker A:But I do want to focus on some other players who are really the stars for India in this tournament.
Speaker A:But the one name that's really at the forefront for me is Varun Chakravarti.
Speaker A:Because, you know, you mentioned India had four spinners they could play in the 11 and five spinners overall if you include Washington Sundar who didn't get a game.
Speaker A:Somehow Varun Chakrabotti has come out in forefront in the last few months as India's go to bowler in limited overs.
Speaker A:And what, what do you make of his rapid ascent given that the first time around, you know, he seemed like he was going to be.
Speaker A:He was going to be just this person remembered for a very short career.
Speaker A:And then he's made a stunning comeback to.
Speaker A:The point is it looks like he's one of the first names on the sheet when it comes to limited overs.
Speaker A:So what do you make of Arun Chakravarti's return?
Speaker A:His stunning return, but also his actual performance on the field?
Speaker B:I think both of them have, like, both.
Speaker B:In terms of both aspects, Varun has been insanely good.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:I just cannot believe that somebody who started seriously considering cricket full time at 26 is now a world champion.
Speaker B:Like, it just boggles my mind because if you look at somebody like Shubman Gill or even Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, all these people have been, you know, spending eight hours on a cricket field probably for.
Speaker B:Since they were 11 years old or 12 years old.
Speaker B:And to be in that company and to better some of those people just speaks volumes of your talent.
Speaker B:And I think you're just immense.
Speaker B:You know, shout out to Varun Chakravarti for managing that comeback after that disastrous T20 World Cup.
Speaker B:I will say I was, I don't know if I was super critical of him in that World cup because in the format that the World cup was being played, you had to Win, you know, three out of three games.
Speaker B:Winning two out of three would also be not enough.
Speaker B:And of course India just won one single game in that, in that T20 World Cup.
Speaker B:But because they batted first and did score runs against, I think New Zealand, he didn't have enough to defend, you know, so that they could manage him, play him as a defensive option and then score the runs from the other end.
Speaker B:So he didn't really get, you know, a solid goal in that T20 World Cup.
Speaker B:So I don't know if that should really hold too much against him, but I will say that he's extremely improved in terms of his arm speed and all of that.
Speaker B:I was reading report that he doesn't even bowl to the Indian players in the nets because he doesn't want to reveal his tricks or he bowls only like his leg spinner or something like that, which, which is quite fascinating.
Speaker B:And you know, he's clearly worked on his arm action, arm speed as well because it's coming a lot quicker.
Speaker B:He has that quicker one which is almost 110ks.
Speaker B:And yeah, there's, I think he's just going from strength to strength.
Speaker B:There's probably some scope of tightening his, you know, the lens he bowls.
Speaker B:There were definitely a few occasions where he was over pitching when he was bowling his leggy.
Speaker B:But other than that, yeah, just phenomenal talent.
Speaker B:And it's India's very lucky that he came up at this time when Bumra was absent and he could play that attacking role and take wickets at will.
Speaker B:You know, whenever they needed to break a partnership, they knew that if Kuldeep didn't work, DP always had Varun to bring up.
Speaker B:And considering Kuldeep has been around a lot more, a lot more people pick his googly and all of that.
Speaker B:And he's also slower in pace, so there's a little more time to adapt.
Speaker B:Varun gave them none of those.
Speaker B:So yeah, it was like watching, you know, Wasim and Wakar bowl.
Speaker B:Like you survive an over of Waseem Akram and you think you've done a great job.
Speaker B:And then there comes Vakar Yunus, like steaming in and challenging you in every possible way.
Speaker A:And when you said, you know, that even like he doesn't even reveal his secrets to like his own team, like, you know, the batters, because, hey, the IPL is around the corner.
Speaker A:It's funny, like, you know, during one of the press conferences, I think he was asked something about his secret or like just like his thought process and his answer was like, yeah, some balls Turned left, some balls, turned right, some go straight.
Speaker A:And I was like, okay, Einstein, don't.
Speaker A:Don't reveal too much.
Speaker A:So I like that about him.
Speaker A:Like, I know mystery spinners can, you know, the term itself can be a joke sometimes, but I think he's living up to KKR's legacy, you know, with Sunil Narayan in there too.
Speaker A:Like, so he's, he's in good hands.
Speaker A:And I think, I mean, obviously he's not like a young gun anymore.
Speaker A:He probably only has a few years left if he can stretch it.
Speaker A:So it'll be fascinating to see how the rest of his career pans out.
Speaker A:But he was definitely a huge, huge trump card for Rohit in this tournament.
Speaker A:You know, the other players, honestly, you know, many of them had good tournaments.
Speaker A:Like, the batters were just like, so reliable.
Speaker A:You know, everyone had at least like one good innings in them, I think.
Speaker A:Yeah, Pandya was also very reliable down the order.
Speaker A:He came in and always kind of laid the finishing touches.
Speaker A:Akshar Patel was just like almost boringly reliable, you know, like he.
Speaker A:There was no panic when he was around.
Speaker A:He was just accumulating the runs.
Speaker A:But the one player that I really have to mention is Shreya Sayer.
Speaker A:You know, he has, fairly or unfairly, depending on your perspective, you know, gone through some stuff, especially with the Indian.
Speaker A:I don't know if it's the board itself or like someone within team management where, you know, his fitness and his commitment was questioned, but, you know, when he's there in the Indian team, he's just consistently putting up the numbers, consistently stabilizing, you know, when there's like a shaky start.
Speaker A:What do you make of his performance, not just in this tournament, but, you know, just of his place in this setup?
Speaker B:I think he should have been player of the tournament, honestly, you know, as much as Rachan Ravinder was amazing.
Speaker B:And that's another, you know, one for a player that we're going to probably watch a lot in the next decade.
Speaker B:Yeah, is just so, so, so good against spin, which was always unknown, but he clearly is good enough to handle the bounce.
Speaker B:And, you know, baseballing, which are things which where he's been questioned a lot more in the past.
Speaker B: , I think really, even in the: Speaker B:And that's where Shah Sarah has just come in and filled that gap with really great ease.
Speaker B:Great striker of Spin bowling, good strike rotator in every possible way.
Speaker B:He's, he's solid and on top of that he's a extraordinary fielder.
Speaker B:He had a, one of those direct hits in the semifinals which I think played a crucial role because probably saved another 10 runs which, you know, could have been tight.
Speaker B:So, yeah, overall, like a really great ad.
Speaker B:And I was in disbelief when just before this, this Champions Trophy, the India England ODI series, when he was dropped or he was going to be dropped for Yashasvi Jaiswal and then last minute Virat Kohli woke up with a knee issue or something like that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, and ended up, you know, Shreya ended up winning that game for India because I, I don't know what Gatungambir was thinking at that point, but if he was going to drop a year from the 15, I, I think we would have had a lot of people who would have been shocked.
Speaker B:So, yeah, in my mind, definitely player of the tournament.
Speaker B:And I think the other one who definitely deserves a lot of credit because he was obviously there at the end is of course K.
Speaker B:Rahul.
Speaker B:So this was actually the first senior ICC tournament win for K.
Speaker B:Rahul, SH Muhammad Shami and Shman Gil.
Speaker B:So what's interesting about that is Gil, sure you can say he has a lot of years ahead of him.
Speaker B:He'll probably get another crack potentially.
Speaker B:You could say the same about a year and, and Rahul, but Shami is the one that kind of gets, you know, forgotten because, well, one he had, he didn't have a great final, I think is he was a little bit all over the place, especially in bowling at the death.
Speaker B:But other than that, he was just coming back from injury, so he wasn't in his peak rhythm.
Speaker B:But he has had a phenomenal ICC tournament history.
Speaker B:Like he's one of those, he's like Shrikhar Dhawan basically.
Speaker B:He just shows up at ICC tournaments and goes into another gear.
Speaker B: Whether it's the: Speaker B:We know he was just like taking wickets for fun.
Speaker B:So really glad that he also has now an ICC trophy to his name after being, you know, after having one of the best strike rates in one day cricket in history.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Also KL Rahul had probably the quote of the tournament after the final, which we won't repeat on this episode, but I'm sure everybody knows what it is.
Speaker A:We'll kind of wrap up the India part of it because, you know, we have other teams and players to talk about too.
Speaker A:But very quickly, I, I mean we have to talk about this because this was kind of like the overriding narrative of the tournament was this talk about India having Team India having this unfair advantage of just playing in the one venue, just getting to train there, not having to travel anywhere else.
Speaker A:There's been a lot of articles, a lot of people have weighed in, but it would, I mean, we have.
Speaker A:Since we're talking about the tournament, we have to weigh in as well.
Speaker A:I'm curious what your thoughts are on it.
Speaker A:I have mine, but I'll let you go first.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, it definitely was an advantage.
Speaker B:I don't think there's anyone fooling anyone by saying, no, no, playing in one venue is not an advantage.
Speaker B: n in that, he talks about the: Speaker B:And he's saying, we were so happy that for six days we didn't have to get on a flight again, do the whole shebang and resettle into a new city.
Speaker B:So these things matter to these professional cricketers because these are people who, you know, look at every little detail of their life, whether it's amount of sleep, whether it's amount of water hydration, all of that.
Speaker B:And obviously travel disrupts this.
Speaker B:So that is one aspect of it.
Speaker B:Now a lot of people said, oh well, it's not like they're, you know, flying some long flight.
Speaker B:It's an hour 40 minute.
Speaker B:And I get all of that.
Speaker B:It still does disrupt their, their routines.
Speaker B:And you absolutely have to feel for somebody like South Africa who had to fly to Dubai and then fly back because, you know, they realize their semi final won't be in Dubai.
Speaker B:That is just ridiculous.
Speaker B:I cannot believe, like they could not push it by a day or something like that because that should have been something that should have been, you know, seen in advance so that at least they didn't have to make that trip.
Speaker B:And the other reason, which probably is a bigger reason, you know, that it matters, is the pitch.
Speaker B:Conditions in Dubai versus Pakistan were very different.
Speaker B:You know, the conditions in Pakistan were all 300 plus scores.
Speaker B:New Zealand scored 320 plus batting first twice while in Dubai.
Speaker B:250 was a phenomenal score as we saw both in the semi final and the final.
Speaker B:So you get to pick only 15 players.
Speaker B:And you know, obviously if Team India had to pick for Pakistan, I am not sure they would have picked all four spinners.
Speaker B:Well, Maybe they should.
Speaker B:They would have picked the four spinners.
Speaker B:I'm not sure all four, four would have played.
Speaker B:Maybe instead of Washington sun, we might have had somebody like Sham Dub or, or somebody else in place at least in the 15.
Speaker B:So India had the advantage of picking 15 for one type of pitch while all the other teams had to pick 15 for two different types of pitches.
Speaker B:So I don't think there's anything, anyone who can argue that it was an advantage.
Speaker B:Having said that, they were clearly the best team in the world.
Speaker B:So yeah, yeah, I think that's not something that can be, you know, that can be said that, oh no, it's only because they fixed the tournament or whatever.
Speaker A:Yeah, I was going to say it.
Speaker A:First of all, nothing takes away the fact that India are the best limited oversight India the best 50 overs side in international cricket at this point.
Speaker A:Nothing will change that fact.
Speaker A:Also nothing changes the fact that they still had the advantage in terms of where they got to play.
Speaker A:Two things can be true at once.
Speaker A:It's not, we're saying it's because of this they won.
Speaker A:I, I, I think even if they, if Team India had traveled to Pakistan and played there, they would still have won the tournament is what I strongly believe.
Speaker A:But it's just unfair to the Indian team, you know, to the Indian players, that there's going to be this asterisk among some sections of cricket fandom where people are going to be like, oh yeah, sure, they won, but yeah, it was because of this factor.
Speaker A:It's just frustrating that it's always going to be there.
Speaker A:And again, from a team perspective, there's nothing that the players themselves could do because they don't get to make these decisions.
Speaker A:They were told this is where you got to play.
Speaker A:They went there, they trained, they played the games to the best of their ability and won the tournament.
Speaker A:So nothing on the team themselves.
Speaker A:I'm just disappointed in the organizers and whoever got to make this decision.
Speaker A:I know there are financial considerations and a lot of stakeholders obviously don't want to lose out on the money that comes from India.
Speaker A:It's not an ideal situation all around.
Speaker A:If I were the decision maker in this regard, I would have said, well, Pakistan are hosting this tournament.
Speaker A:If the Indian government does not allow the team to go to Pakistan to play, then Team India should not participate in this tournament.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's the most logical, I would think that's the most logical position or, you know, logical steps that should have been taken.
Speaker A:But again, we live in a very complicated time in international cricket and the administration of international cricket, where obviously it's not just the ICC themselves, but even other country boards don't want to lose out on the money that could come with India's participation.
Speaker A:So I would just say, yeah, it's just a frustrating and unfortunate situation all around that.
Speaker A:This is the situation.
Speaker A:But I'll go back to what I started with.
Speaker A:It doesn't take away the fact that you were the best team in this tournament.
Speaker A:So I just wish going forward.
Speaker A:I know it's just a wish because I don't think anything is going to change.
Speaker A:That's the cynical fan in me.
Speaker A:But we really need to.
Speaker A:I mean, the ICC needs to get.
Speaker A:Hopefully they get better with figuring out these kind of solutions.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Did you have any additional thoughts on that?
Speaker B: going to say is I remember in: Speaker B:They were asked to skip that match and lose those points.
Speaker B:It's as simple as that.
Speaker B:So, yeah, at the very least, like the group stage came India.
Speaker B:Pakistan should have, maybe that should have been like that.
Speaker B:Even if you absolutely need India in the tournament to make any money out of it, I get all that financial consideration.
Speaker B:The fact that you can't even, you know, you're.
Speaker B:You're forcing the host to travel was.
Speaker A:That's a ridiculous thing.
Speaker A:Where the host nation, the team from the host country are playing in a different country against a team and then go back to their country to play the remaining games.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's just ridiculous how it is skewed.
Speaker A:The power in international cricket is very skewed.
Speaker A:And I don't pretend that I have all the answers and all the solutions, but there's got to be a better way of doing this.
Speaker A:Otherwise it's just gonna devolve into where only Indians are following cricket with a few fans from here and there.
Speaker A:But we just need to figure out a better solution to these kind of challenges in the future.
Speaker A:Or just not have countries like Pakistan host still.
Speaker A:You know, things get more settled and.
Speaker B:I mean, I think that's.
Speaker B:That's the big issue, right?
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The whole reason to have this Champions trophy, if you look at the whole history, like we've one, we've like started this tournament because it was supposed to be growing the game.
Speaker B:That's why I think the first one was held in Kenya, if I remember right.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And Bangladesh.
Speaker B:And Bangladesh was the next one.
Speaker B:Or maybe actually it was the other.
Speaker A:Way around, I think.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:98 Bangladesh.
Speaker A: And then: Speaker B:2000 was Kenya.
Speaker B:2002 was Sri Lanka.
Speaker A:Right, right, right, yeah.
Speaker B:So the idea was the tournament was to expand the game, which eventually got canceled because they were like, yeah, we're just going to reduce it to eight teams.
Speaker B:Even with that, I think now it's become a tournament where they're like, hey, we just need an ICC tournament every year.
Speaker B:We can only fill in so many World Cups and T20 World Cups and that's where the champions trophies come in so that they can get one more guaranteed India Pakistan game and market it to the maximum.
Speaker B:So it's a little bit annoying that we have this tournament which is, you know, which should have died at this point, but it's still kind of going on.
Speaker B:Yeah, Cricket organization has a lot of things to learn.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, let's keep moving and talk about some of the other teams and players involved.
Speaker A:We'll talk about the players in a bit.
Speaker A:But I want to talk about teams themselves.
Speaker A:New Zealand seem to be the perennial bridesmaids these days.
Speaker A:They're constantly.
Speaker A:They end up making it to the finals and then losing.
Speaker A:You know, for the longest time it is a joke that South Africa were the ones who would always stumble at the last hurdle, which when you look deeper, that was not really the case.
Speaker A:It was actually India, I think it was more appropriate for, and now they've started winning titles.
Speaker A:New Zealand, what, what ails New Zealand in finals?
Speaker A:Like, I don't get it.
Speaker A:They, they have a very good team.
Speaker A:They don't have too many superstars, but they have the players who get the job done till just about, till the end.
Speaker A:And then they cannot push, make that final push.
Speaker A:What are, what are your thoughts on team New Zealand?
Speaker B:I don't know if we should read too much about New Zealand's like choking or whatever based on this final because as we discussed, like the depth of the Indian team is just phenomena.
Speaker B:Like the fact that M.
Speaker B:Satner was coming into bat at number eight.
Speaker B:I mean, he's a phenomenal batter for number eight and yet he was the second best number eight in the, in the, you know, in the final.
Speaker B:So like just the depth in terms of just quality of the Indian lineup was one step ahead.
Speaker B:Like mid Satner was probably at par or you know, slightly not as good as Varun Chakravarti, if you consider him our primary spinner, but pretty much every other spinner in The Kiwi lineup was not as good.
Speaker B:Same thing with the batting.
Speaker B:Like they were all solid, but just slightly not as good.
Speaker B:So I think it's just a case of the team just slightly better suited and overall more balanced winning, which is the more usual outcome in cricket.
Speaker B:It's why teams like New Zealand and South Africa come close and don't win on most occasions.
Speaker B:Rather than, you know, this whole choker mindset and all of that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:It's just the depth that, you know, Australia, for example, I've had in the last number of years, last decade, even before that.
Speaker B:Actually, that depth is hard to beat, even if you get all the basics right.
Speaker B:And that's what New Zealand is, is very, very good at.
Speaker B: If you think about the: Speaker B:You know, everybody thought it's sprint friendly services, subcontinent, subcontinental teams are going to do great.
Speaker B:And somehow, you know, they didn't make it through.
Speaker B:And neither did, neither did England.
Speaker B:So, you know, there were all these teams that were fancy, but New Zealand just has this habit of, in my mind, overperforming because they just do their basics.
Speaker B:Right before that 20, 21 World cup, they had this whole hydration testing that they did where they looked at hydration levels of each players, how much water they lose.
Speaker B:Then they trained in 45 degrees Celsius heat in Dubai, well advanced the tournament and then adjusted hydration again.
Speaker B:And they just really made sure that they could, every inch that they could find, they covered and that's how they overperformed and got there.
Speaker B:So I think it's just a case of that.
Speaker B:I think the truth is, like, they are among the top three teams consistently in the last few years.
Speaker B:They're just not the best.
Speaker B:And that's why they come close.
Speaker A:And I just feel like they're missing an X factor.
Speaker A:I mean, you know, when they had Trent Bolt, I felt like their bowling was just sharp.
Speaker A:I mean, they had Matt Henry in this tournament and I feel like his absence in the final arguably affected New Zealand's chances and probably reduced it because especially in a defensive, in like a 250 total, he would have been really valuable.
Speaker A:But I think that's where they.
Speaker A:If we were to pinpoint something, if we were forced to pinpoint something, I just think that X factor was missing for them.
Speaker A:Two teams that have abundance of X factors but just can't do anything beyond that is, are Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pakistan being the host country.
Speaker A:You know, it would have been a dream narrative if they somehow, you know, managed to go.
Speaker A:Go on and win the whole tournament.
Speaker A:But reality is what it is.
Speaker A:They just don't have the team for it.
Speaker A:And then on the other hand, you have.
Speaker A:Afghanistan were obviously a lot more junior in terms of their cricket journey, but, you know, it did really.
Speaker A:They seem to have everything needed to make it to, like, the final stages of every tournament.
Speaker A:But I think they're very close.
Speaker A:I, I don't think it's too far away.
Speaker A:You know, the time when they're going to make it to the final Four.
Speaker A:And in this tournament, they, you know, they defeated Pakistan and they, they have what it takes, but they're just not quite there yet.
Speaker A:What do you make of these two teams and their performance?
Speaker B:I don't know what to say about Pakistan.
Speaker B:I feel like, yeah, all the changes that they've done over the last few years, captains changing, selectors changing, it's not a professional setup.
Speaker B:Like, let's be honest, like, there it is not a professional setup.
Speaker B:It's still a setup from the 90s.
Speaker B:And yeah, I, I think you can expect the odd, amazing result when you have a setup like that just based on the, their, their talent pool and depth and all of that, but, or that X factor, you know, somebody like Naseem Shah just having a great day will have you, you know, will help upset an Indian team or, or some other team.
Speaker B:But the truth of the matter is they.
Speaker B:That's not a consistent enough setup for them to last it.
Speaker B:You know, just reading through some of the details after, you know, they were out.
Speaker B:It also feels like there's also a lack of talent right now, which, which, you know, happens with many teams.
Speaker B:There's always, you know, polls which are really, well, you know, which have a lot of talent and then some, which, you know, there's ups and downs in terms of talent pools for all countries.
Speaker B:That's a natural progression in sport, in any sport.
Speaker B:And I think they're going through a tough patch there as well.
Speaker B:So I think compounding issues which are not helping Pakistan at the moment, Afghanistan, I definitely think is, you know, it's a great team right now because of the way they are performing.
Speaker B:I think they just know how to make the most of their resources.
Speaker B:They realize that their batting is not the most, you know, they don't have the depth that any of the, you know, top three teams have, but they make sure that their openers, who are their best two batters that for long, even if it's slower, and then, you know, do whatever they can in the last 15, 20 hours.
Speaker B:So they clearly have a strategy.
Speaker B:And on top of that, they have the bowling talent.
Speaker B:I think what I will also say is they are also a little fortunate that the last two ICC tournaments, well, maybe not the Caribbean one, but the ODI tournaments, 20, 23 and this one were in the subcontinent, which suit them.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Would they be as effective in Australia?
Speaker B:I think we're yet to see that because I think that's where they will have to rely less on their spinners.
Speaker B:And, you know, for a team like India, we know that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:We have Mahmoud Shami, Bumran Fit, Siraj.
Speaker B:We have a lot of options with pacers as well.
Speaker B:So when the next World cup is in South Africa, it's not like it's a worry.
Speaker B:South Africa, I think, sorry, Afghanistan, I think, are probably scratching their head there and hoping that some more pacers pop up.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But definitely big improvement from, you know, the last decade and a half.
Speaker A:You know, their journey will be interesting to follow in the next few years.
Speaker A:South Africa, not much to write about.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:I can't recall anything stand out from them except David Miller's century in that final game.
Speaker A:And then who's like, this magnet for criticism when you look at his numbers and everything looks solid, everything looks great.
Speaker A:But I'm just curious, like, your take on, you know, South Africa bowing out when they did and Boma asks, you know, his place in the team.
Speaker A:I personally don't think we.
Speaker A:We should take that one sample and be like, yeah, he's not, you know, a good fit here.
Speaker A:But, yeah.
Speaker A:Curious on your take on South Africa's end result and Tamba Bahuma.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, I think end result wise, I think they were.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's ODI cricket is so weird right now because they played a tournament in, I believe, in Sharjah, if I'm not mistaken, they played three ODIs against Afghanistan and they lost one two before this tournament.
Speaker B:So they lost to Afghanistan in Sharjah, or maybe it was Abu Dhabi, one of those places, you know, months before, but the full team wasn't playing.
Speaker B:So that's like one of the challenges right now with ODI cricket that often there's a T20 league going on.
Speaker B:And at that point, the SA20 was going on, and so a lot of players were occupied with that and.
Speaker B:And that's why they weren't playing the ODI format.
Speaker B:So I think that challenge continues for a lot of teams.
Speaker B:It's not just South Africa.
Speaker B:It's true for England as where, you know, that group is getting together not enough before a big ODI tournament.
Speaker B:And that's why England has struggled to, you know, just get the rhythm of an ODI innings.
Speaker B:They either go too hard or they can't seem to, you know, figure out their, their pace of the innings.
Speaker B:So I think from that perspective, South Africa definitely had the talent.
Speaker B:Like that lineup is amazing.
Speaker B:If you look at, you know, everybody from Plassen, David Miller and you know, we still don't have some of the youngsters who are starting to make their name in the SA 20 in, in that 11 yet, but I'm sure that's going to start popping up.
Speaker B:Some of them have been playing some really eye catchy innings, so that is bound to happen.
Speaker B:I think they did fairly well considering their bowling resources.
Speaker B:So obviously Keshav Maharaj is a fantastic spinner but they had a lot of injuries when it comes to pacers.
Speaker B:So they were reliant very heavily on Rabada and Maharaj.
Speaker B:And considering about, I think six pacers were injured before the tournament, I think they did as well as, you know, one would expect them to.
Speaker B:Demba Babuma.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't necessarily have a problem with him.
Speaker B:He has a solid record in, in ODIs.
Speaker B:Like he's a good opener, he's a good, he's, he's obviously not as fast as, you know, Ashok Mangil or Rohit Sharma, but they're probably the top two openers in world cricket right now in, in ODIs.
Speaker B:Maybe, maybe Travis Head will take offense to that.
Speaker B:But, but yeah, apart from Travis Head, I don't, I can't think of a third name who's, you know, substantially better than those two.
Speaker B:So I would say that he's, he's still a pretty solid opener.
Speaker B:He definitely got a little bit stuck while they were chasing a big target and in a game, in a must win game.
Speaker B:So there's, there will be criticism but in general I think the, the setup in South Africa understand his value and you know, his leadership and all of that and clearly he's, you know, won their trust.
Speaker B:So he must be doing a lot of things right.
Speaker A:I'm partial to Boma.
Speaker A:I don't really think he fits in the T20 side but I think he is still a very good asset for South Africa and the 50 over format.
Speaker A:Test matches without a doubt to wrap up the teams that did take part in the tournament, England and Australia.
Speaker A:England obviously have a new skipper going forward.
Speaker A:It'll be interesting to see who it is.
Speaker A:And Australia, honestly, as well as they did against England, I never really thought they were gonna go too far.
Speaker A:So both teams, in my opinion, matched their expectations.
Speaker A:Did you expect anything different from them?
Speaker B:Not really.
Speaker B:I would.
Speaker B:I would agree with that.
Speaker B:I think Australia always have the X factor with players like Maxwell and Travis, Ed and Adam Zampa.
Speaker B:So there's always, like, maybe Australia, but.
Speaker B:But I think they did about Aspar, considering their three quicks were gone and then.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't think anybody expected England to do well.
Speaker B:This was probably one of the things where everybody was like, yep, they've been struggling in ODIs.
Speaker B:It's a known thing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But even then, it was a surprise to see them fail to defend.
Speaker B:350.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Do you think this tournament missed teams like Sri Lanka and West Indies?
Speaker A:I mean, obviously, given the rules of the tournament, they.
Speaker A:They did not qualify, but.
Speaker A:And even if they're not playing well, there always seems to be some excitement when they're around.
Speaker A:There's always some game that ends up being this humdinger.
Speaker A:I don't really think the Champions Trophy had too many exciting games, if not any exciting game, like any close game.
Speaker A:Do you think this tournament could have used more of Sri Lanka and West Indies?
Speaker B:I mean, I think West Indies, their ODI standards have been falling to quite a low, so I'm not sure how much quality they would add to this tournament.
Speaker B:Sri Lanka, definitely.
Speaker B:I do think, like, even.
Speaker B:Especially in the conditions in Dubai, like, they would be handy with their spin, with their spinners.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker B:I do think there would be a good side, and they've been on somewhat of a comeb after Sana Jaisaria took over as coach.
Speaker B:They've been winning a lot more and, you know, challenging teams.
Speaker B:So I do think they're coming back.
Speaker B:I mean, irrespective of Sri Lanka or West Indies or Ireland or whoever you want to pick, it just doesn't feel like a world tournament with eight teams.
Speaker B:Let's just be honest about that.
Speaker B:There's a reason why, you know, World cup felt really amazing, because even though it was 10 teams, everybody played everybody.
Speaker B:We had a lot of, you know, we had time to go through a tournament and.
Speaker B:And see how teams adapt to different situations and different conditions here.
Speaker B:It was a quick tournament, and that's why it just doesn't have the same appeal.
Speaker B:It would be awesome if they could expand the Champions Trophy.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, a bigger setup, but it doesn't look like they have any plans of that.
Speaker A:I mean, I'm fine with the format of the Champions Trophy as it is right now.
Speaker A:As long as you're not pretending that it is just growing the game.
Speaker A:It is not growing the game.
Speaker A:You just get to see the top teams at that given point take part in an ICC tournament and you know, claim like some silverware.
Speaker A:But the World Cup, I think without a doubt should be an avenue to grow the game and that's where you need more teams.
Speaker A:So I'm.
Speaker A:That part I'm fine with.
Speaker A:Now.
Speaker A:We can't wrap up this episode without talking about some of the players that stood out in this short tournament.
Speaker A:Why don't we pick two, Two players that for you were really players of the tournament or players that you enjoyed watching and then we can wrap up.
Speaker B:I think definitely Rachin Ravinder has to be one of them.
Speaker B:Yeah, the guy has five ICC ODI hundreds in two tournaments.
Speaker B:It's unimaginable.
Speaker B:And yeah, clearly an incredible player of spin and pace.
Speaker B:And you know, the fact that he encounter, he countered India with, with some attacking shots in the first 10 definitely made them nervous.
Speaker B:Like a lot of even Paranchakravarti after the win talked about how, you know, that attack in the beginning had made them a little varied because obviously in a, in a 250 pitch, a quick 10 overs makes a big difference and he almost pulled that off.
Speaker B:And then of course his, his capability in the field and with the ball is, is stand out.
Speaker B:So definitely one player who we're gonna see at least for the next decade.
Speaker B:I would be surprised if he, you know, if there's a format he doesn't ace, but he looks pretty set on Test ODIs and NT20 greatness, you know, at least at this point.
Speaker B:Trying to think of my second player, I, I really enjoyed, you know, just Adam Zampa.
Speaker B:I'm trying to think like I was trying to think of some spinner because I feel like the Indian team gets a lot of attention.
Speaker B:So I was trying to think of somebody else.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And yeah, I was really trying to think of like Mitch Satner also because he's one of those spinners who's really underrated him and Keshav Maharaj in particular.
Speaker B:Like, if we talk about really great limited over spinners, we'll talk about Adam Zampa and Kuldeep Yadav and all these people, but we sometimes miss Keshav Maharaj and Satner who play in conditions much less friendlier than Kuldeep does and, and they still have incredible economies and variations and you know, keep Top batters in check.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I enjoyed, like the limelight he got.
Speaker B:It was well deserved after, you know, 100 plus ODIs with an economy of 4.8 in this era.
Speaker B:It's just phenomenal.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:The quick point about Ravindra, I want to add, I want to say that I was an early believer in Rachendra Vendra way before his heroics, like in international cricket and way before he joined Chennai Super Kings.
Speaker A:Let me be clear on that.
Speaker A:It's not CSK bias here.
Speaker A:Very soon after he made his debut and he was this spinning all rounder like he was to be a spinner primarily, but he was also like handy with the bat.
Speaker A:But even in those short glimpses of his batting, like, you could see he had timing.
Speaker A:He has this really good ability to pick up the line and lens very quick and he's so attractive to watch as a batter.
Speaker A:Like, you know, some of the shots, it looks amazing.
Speaker A:Like if you just took pictures of the shots or if you watch like highlights, it's just like stunning.
Speaker A:There's like a lot of dominance, but there's also a lot of elegance in it.
Speaker A:And very few players in international cricket can marry those two together.
Speaker A:And even that, you know, forget the centuries that, that short innings of like 37 or something in the final, very brief, but some of the shots were just like, incredible.
Speaker A:And I can see why someone like Warren Chakravarti was, you know, or any Indian cricket fan for that matter would have been wary that, okay, here we go.
Speaker A:Another, you know, final tournament, final innings, you know, where, which is going to deny India like a win because he was so threatening.
Speaker A:And I'm really, really confident that he's going to be one of the world's leading batsmen in international cricket.
Speaker A:I do think he has some way to go in T20s though.
Speaker A:But he, if, if I were to place a bet, I'm, you know, I'm very confident that he's gonna really pick up on T20s as well and kind of master that format.
Speaker A:But the two players that I was gonna pick, well, one was first fielding, Glenn Phillips.
Speaker A:He is just incredible.
Speaker A:Like, I don't know how he does it consistently.
Speaker A:It's one thing to take those kind of blinders every now and then once in a while.
Speaker A:He does it every game to the point where it's a shocker if he just takes a simple catch.
Speaker A:I don't know if he makes simple catches look hard, but it's just amazing to watch his grabs.
Speaker A:And one of the reasons I fell in love with the game all the way back was because of, of players like John T.
Speaker A:Rhodes who made fielding look you know, this thing of beauty.
Speaker A:You know, sure you had the batsman hitting sixes, you had the fast boulders, you know, knocking down the stumps.
Speaker A:But there's something quite, you know, fascinating about watching like a class fielder, you know, diving and plucking catches out of thin air.
Speaker A:And there's a lot of, there are a lot of good feelings out there.
Speaker A:But I just, at this moment I cannot think of someone better than Glenn Phillips in international cricket.
Speaker A:Someone better at taking catches.
Speaker B:Hard to disagree.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And the other one has to be Varun Chakravarti.
Speaker A:I'm just like fascinated by his journey.
Speaker A:I mean we mentioned earlier, you mentioned earlier that he was like, probably didn't take cricket seriously till he was 26.
Speaker A:His fallback career is architecture.
Speaker A:That's insane to me that someone who could probably do very well in that is making a name for himself in international cricket at this stage of his career.
Speaker A:And when he was picked, you know, at the last minute I was like, not sure.
Speaker A:I was thinking, okay, he's good in T20s but One Day Internationals might be a step too far for him.
Speaker A:Especially you know, in a tournament that features the top international teams.
Speaker A:Not even like selecting him for, you know, a bilateral series against a lower ranked team.
Speaker A:And he didn't start, you know, in the first couple of games but as soon as he was picked for the New Zealand game, picks up five wickets and then goes on for the remainder of the tournament just to be this very reliable asset for Rohit.
Speaker A:And even in the final, you know, getting the first wicket for New Zealand and then maintaining control, it was just his story more than anything else is just fascinating to me.
Speaker A:And the fact that he is held his own against, you know, the top batters in international cricket.
Speaker A:So I'm rooting for him.
Speaker A:I, I hope he, you know, for the rest of his career, however long it lasts, he continues to do well because especially after that false start to his career where it looked like, you know, he was just going to be forgotten.
Speaker A:For him to grab his opportunity, the second opportunity and make such a strong statement, that's just amazing.
Speaker A:So all in all, I think it was a fine tournament overall to watch.
Speaker A:Like I said earlier, I cannot think of too many like exciting games.
Speaker A:But more than anything else, this tournament was just a reminder of team India's dominance in limited overs currently.
Speaker A:Which as a longtime fan is just so good to see.
Speaker A:So good to see how clinical they are.
Speaker A:So good to see the the amount of class players in the side.
Speaker A:But 20, 27, 50 year World cup is the next marker and to see what kind of changes there are going to be in the team, if there are going to be any changes in the team before then.
Speaker A:But yes, as an Indian cricket fan following both the ODI and the T20 sides, this really is a good time.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Do you have any additional thoughts on it?
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Anything else before we close up?
Speaker B:No, I think, you know, you nailed it.
Speaker B:I think it's, it's, you know, we take peaks of teams for granted so we must enjoy this one before a bunch of people retire and there's a sudden lull which is kind of what we are seeing with Test cricket right now.
Speaker B:There's a few people who are past their peak and some people have moved on.
Speaker B:So we know how that, how that feels for just from our December and January cricket watching.
Speaker B:So definitely worth making the most of this ODIs.
Speaker A:We will talk about India's Test cricket struggles at a later time.
Speaker A:But for now we want to end on some positive vibes, positivity and hopefully there are no dramatic announcements by the time this episode comes out.
Speaker A:So we'll try to put this out as soon as possible.
Speaker A:But to our listeners, thank you for listening, do stay tuned.
Speaker A:We do want to put out more episodes and we'll have more discussions with interesting guests every now and then.
Speaker A:But for now we'll see you after the next game.
