A significant discussion unfolds regarding the imminent Cricket T20 World Cup, as Benny and Mayank delve into the intricacies and implications surrounding this prestigious tournament. With the tournament rapidly approaching, anticipation is palpable, but it is tempered by a backdrop of controversy, particularly concerning the withdrawal of teams and the ensuing political ramifications. The hosts engage in a thorough analysis of the current state of international cricket, highlighting the implications of Bangladesh's withdrawal and Pakistan's subsequent stance on their match against India. They explore the dynamics of team compositions, player performances, and the inherent pressures of competing in a World Cup hosted in India. As the conversation progresses, Benny and Mayank provide keen insights into the potential outcomes and key players to watch, culminating in a comprehensive forecast of the tournament's trajectory.

Hello and welcome to the Last Wicket.

I'm your host, Benny.

Thank you for joining us, folks.

I know we've kept you all waiting.

I'm sure all of you were just waiting it with anticipation for our first episode.

And we are off with a banger because we are going to be Talking about the T20 World cup, the men's T20 World cup, which is going to be starting very shortly.

But first, let me welcome my co host, Mike.

Hey, Mike.

Hey, Benny.

Are you excited about the World Cup?

I am now that I've realized it's already upon us.

I know when you mentioned let's do an episode and the T20 woke up and you said it's starting next week and I was like, next week?

What happened?

Because I'm in this funk where there's just a lot of cricket happening and almost all of it is T20s.

And it's not just internationals, it's also franchise tournaments happening all over the place.

And players are one day playing for a team in one country and next week suddenly they're wearing different colors, different team, you know, different country.

And it's just all a blur now.

And so I kind of lost track of what's going on because, sure, we've been Talking about the T20 woke up in general for a long time, but it's here and so.

And like most international tournaments these days, it's also had its fair share of controversies.

I'm thinking we'll start from there, let's get that out of the way and then talk about the actual cricket.

Obviously, the last few days all the news has been surrounding India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

It started with Bangladesh essentially saying, we're not going to travel to India.

And so ICC would not let them play in Sri Lanka.

And so, you know, they were replaced by Scotland and then Pakistan.

Of course, they had to show solidarity with Bangladesh and now they've decided to boycott their league game against India.

What do you make of this whole thing?

It seemed to come out of nowhere and then in the last three weeks or so, it seemed to have snowballed and got to this current predicament.

Yeah, it really has come out of nowhere.

I mean, I think it all started with the whole, you know, the BCCI asking Mustafa Zur to be replaced, asking KKR to replace Mustafa Zur, the only player from Bangladesh to be in the IPL and to be selected in the auction.

And yeah, I mean, it was already the vcci.

I don't think they are acting as if they are, you know, a neutral administrator that's trying to do the best for the game, I don't think anybody thinks that is true for the last, you know, n number of years and doesn't help that their own track record.

And when I say their own, I mean BJP's which essentially runs the BCCI isn't very great when it comes to human rights.

But obviously that's a topic for another episode, another day.

But having said all that, that escalated a lot more than I had thought.

Like, my first thought was this is ridiculous.

And most of his or even in the future Bangladeshi players who want to play should be allowed to play like they.

Whatever is happening in Bangladesh, the politics of it, whether just on the political front or even from a Bangladesh cricket board perspective, things are not super stable.

They've had a lot of controversies, controversies with the Bangladesh Premier League owner speaking out secretary going on random tangents and saying there's corruption, all of that.

So there's obviously a lot going on in Bangladesh and they're by no means, you know, there no means a settled administration and things are not smooth.

But yes, then for it to go down there like this and then them asking for new venues, all of that was always going to be challenging for a lot of people have compared it to the India situation when India played the Champions Trophy games in Dubai, while an exception was made for India.

I think the difference is that when it was announced to be in Bangalore, Pakistan, right from then, BCCI had talked about hesitation and all of that and, you know, getting approvals from the government and all of that.

So there was always this note about, hey, this may not happen and we might have to think of some sort of hybrid situation.

Bangladesh are pulling out less than two months before the, before the start of the World Cup.

So that obviously is extremely tough to reschedule, even if the BCC or the ICC rather wanted that.

And we know that ICC today actually is, is run by J. Shah who's, you know, it's basically as, as Sharda Orga calls it, their, their BCCI is Dubai office.

So.

So I think at that point it didn't leave them, even if they had the best intentions, with too many choices but to ask for a replacement.

What I found interesting is I honestly thought that this was a good point.

Like, even if Bangladesh, you know, ICC said we can't move matches at this late juncture, I generally thought there would be some sense of solidarity for Bangladesh and there'd be other teams like the England and the Aussies who would like the boards.

I'm obviously not asking the players, but the boards would speak up and at least make a statement.

But clearly the big three don't want to ruffle each other's feathers or the BCCI's feathers, for that matter.

And really, the only board that stood out was Pakistan.

So I think Pakistan's opposition, and I did like the way they went about it because they were like, oh, we don't know if we're going to play.

Finally they said, you know what?

We'll take away the biggest financial motivation.

And that is the India Pakistan game, which last few years has been a lopsided contest.

But it is still without a doubt the game that generates the most revenue.

Advertising, eyeballs, you name it.

And the fact that Pakistan is doing this really does take some guts.

So, yeah, kind of kudos to pcb, like, for all their mess.

This is, in my mind, like, somebody needed to step up to the bully.

And the other aspect of it is there's been ICC warnings to PCB for skipping this game.

But I think the.

And of course it's a danger, like ICC funding, all that really does matter.

But I think they have much lesser to lose.

Their players already don't play in the ipl, which is, you know, the.

Has unfortunately become the center of everything these days.

Contracts and big money from the IPL there.

I think if other boards start to say, oh, now we'll not play in the psl, that would be a big damage to Pakistan.

But other than that, they already don't have bilateral cricket with India.

They are hosting other countries.

So, yeah, I think they just had lesser of a potential impact, which is why they've gone with it.

And, yeah, would have been nice to see a couple of other boards stand up and say, you know, at least make a statement about it.

But obviously everybody's been trying not to ruffle BCCI's feathers.

I mean, I agree with almost everything you said, because the thing that really stood out for me was somebody showing this.

They've got spine.

First Bangladesh, Like, I think it could have been easy for them at some point to be like, all right, I mean, do we really want to skip the T20 World Cup?

You know, it's such a prestigious tournament, you know, big part of the calendar, so do we really want to skip this?

Fine, let's just go and play and just be done with it.

So, first of all, to say well, we're not going to play.

And the merits of it, you already kind of, you know, expanded on it.

And so followed by Pakistan essentially also saying, well, we don't want to play India, because this is clear bias here because, you know, different rules for India, different rules for other teams.

And again, the merits of that can be debatable, but I'm just more impressed that there are at least a couple of cricket boards who are not hesitant to kind of, you know, show that, yeah, we're not just going to accept it because that's what's going to keep happening.

If.

If Bangladesh, you know, got cowed down and then Pakistan also, well, Pakistan really didn't need to get involved.

But, you know, them kind of twisting in the knife, I think, in a way it shows to the other boards almost like, hey, this is what we did.

What are you gonna do?

Are you just gonna keep silent and just keep doing your own thing and not, like, try to make any difference at all?

But basically, what this has done for me at least, and I'm sure there'll be quite a few others who would share this sentiment, it already feels a little bit sullied now because you don't have two big teams.

Well, you don't have Bangladesh, and sure, they're not the greatest T20 side, but they are still an established team with quite a few good players in them.

You don't have an India Pakistan game, and we'll talk about that in a little bit.

Because here's the other thing.

Will something change between now this scheduled game?

We never know.

So I don't want to waste too much breath on talking about that when it probably could end up happening later.

But it's the principles, right?

Like, it's a stand taken by these boards.

And for me, it's just not a good start to the way this tournament is shaping up, because, I mean, we can talk ad nauseam about the.

The way this has been organized in that, you know, no information about ticket sale.

That's pretty standard for any tournament hosted by India, I feel, these days.

But just even before the first game started, we're here talking about, you know, Bangladesh not playing, Pakistan boycotting India, and it kind of almost throws an asterisk on the way this whole thing has been handled.

And it doesn't help that it drives the narrative that the Indian board, through bc, through the icc, is essentially bullying everyone else, making rules that suit them and not really caring about, you know, the other countries.

And if you go online, the discourse, you know, most Indian fans at Least the ones are online are like, yeah, this is great and fully supportive of all of this.

And then you see fans from other countries just like disgusted and just trashing and just feeling like everything is just being skewed.

So we'll talk about the cricket in a little bit.

But if India go on to win the, the World cup as expected, there will be the naysayers who will bring this up and say, well, this was all designed in such a way that India, you know, regardless of their cricketing skills, people will bring this up.

And I think that's just unfortunate and almost like all of these are very self inflicted wounds.

So yeah, just a disappointing buildup to this World Cup.

But hey, what's a World cup in India without you know, some controversy, right.

And I think it's going to be like the norm for ICC events now because we've just, we were not playing Pakistan, the second biggest population amongst, you know, the key cricketing nations.

Bangladesh is the third largest and now we've pissed them off as well.

So really I think cricket is going to a big three and franchise cricket model which is extremely sad.

But honestly that's how it looks unless somebody else steps up and stops BCCI from, you know, bullying the, the other nations.

And, and unfortunately that doesn't look likely because cricket Australia, which is the third best board in terms of money is losing millions of Australian dollars every year.

So.

So when the third best is in that shape.

Yeah, really, I just think it's going to end up being big three playing a ton of cricket with each other.

Random series sprinkled for South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka and, and then a bunch of franchise cricket here and there.

So yeah, it's, it's going to change the nature of world cricket for sure.

But I mean I think it's, it's anyways been a sham of the whole, you know, oh, we don't want to play Pakistan because of XYZ reasons because Asia cup happened not too long ago and it was scheduled specifically so that India Pakistan played in three consecutive Sundays.

Maximum viewership, maximum eyeballs, you know, so they all know that this is the big ticket item which sells tournaments.

So once it starts hurting their wallets, maybe they're selling stance will soften a little bit.

Yeah, that's what we can hope.

So that tells you how somehow, you know, we have all these random fixtures but India, Pakistan somehow always end up in the same group so that's, that's.

You know, what's awesome, what's fascinating is Pakistan are really hitting ICC and BCCI where it hurts.

Right?

The money, absolutely.

When it boils down, it's all about the money and the fact that they would lose so much money if this game does not happen in.

The broadcaster will have a lot to say about it.

There's going to be a lot of internal questions about like, why it got to this stage and if that initiates the first steps towards some kind of like, you know, just people like looking, looking at what they could have done better and maybe reducing the influence of the BCCI in that not everything needs to be in your favor.

You know, there are other countries involved as well.

So let's try to make it work for everyone and not just for one country.

Because otherwise, like you said, I really think it's a distinct possibility in the near future, especially with a lot of these countries essentially making these franchise leagues or the franchise model work, these are becoming viable.

The success of the big bash over the years, the T20 tournament in South Africa, I think a lot of countries will start focusing more on that because you're going to get international players in those.

So why care about international games so much?

So like you said, Test cricket will probably be, you know, really between the big three and the ODIs will still hang about.

But I think the future of the game will just be T20 leagues.

And you know, every year we hear rumors that they want to expand the ipo, like make it a longer season, add more teams.

I mean, if that really happens.

So yeah, that'll take up.

I mean right now it already, already takes like what, three months.

Imagine a future where it goes on for four or five months and a lot of these players are not available for international commitments, which in turn those international series are going to disappear.

And so it's just going to be a chain reaction unless someone starts, you know, standing on principle, which I think Bangladesh and to an extent Pakistan have done.

But let's see.

I don't know where it's gonna go.

I mean, I still, I, I don't even know if the boycott will stand and if there's going to be some negotiations going on which will kind of still keep the India Pakistan game happening.

But we'll see.

Let's get to the cricket.

I know we talked a lot about the controversy, but there's going to be some cricket eventually.

In fact, I think the warm up games are happening as we speak.

And you know, you, you mentioned that you're excited now that it's finally here.

And I was just thinking that it is fine.

It is fascinating that with so many T20 series, I mean, I'm talking about the international games now happening.

They kind of come and go.

You know, you'll hear about, oh, this player scored a century of 45 balls.

And I'm like, so what?

I just saw that last week, you know, it's not special anymore.

Or you see a lot of new names every now and then.

I'm like, who's this player?

But T20 World Cups or the World T20, as Sanjay Vandreka would prefer to be called, is like, it offers context.

It offers context and has all these teams coming and playing for this big trophy.

And so it, even with all these controversies, it gives me something to look forward to.

So we'll talk about each team.

But I really want to start with the question, do you think it would be anticlimactic if India does not win this World cup.

At this point?

Yes, because yeah, they are definitely sort of head and shoulders above anybody else.

Not to say there's not other good teams.

But yeah, India really a very, very strong side.

So overall, this is an extraordinary lineup.

There are analysts out there who are trying to figure out if this is the best T20 side ever, not just in this World Cup.

So yes, it would be anti climatic considering they're playing at home, they know the conditions and they have such a strong squad that if one player isn't like somebody like Sanjay Samsung who seems to have, you know, lost a little bit of form, they have like two replacements sitting ready to go the moment they need.

So they, it would need to be an off day and somebody else having a magical or somebody else having a magical day to really stop India at this point.

Yeah, at least that's my thought at the moment.

I just can't think of any obvious weaknesses in this Indian site.

I mean, yes, it's a World cup so there's going to be some pressure, especially when you're playing at home.

I mean, even in years past, even when even with much weaker teams, India was always expected to win.

Right.

But you're playing at home, you have Your best, you have assembled the best squad possible.

Even with the retirements, in fact, with the retirements of Rohit Kohli is the team suddenly seems to have become even better and stronger.

So the Indian fans are going to be expecting, you know, the team to win the World cup at home.

So there's that pressure that's going to be there.

But outside of, you know, sudden loss of form for all these star players and like the opposition having an incredibly great day, I just can't see any weakness.

They've seemed to have covered all their bases with the bat.

You know, top order, lower order, you know, their fast bowlers, spin spinners, even like lower order hitters.

I'm just like trying to think like I, I just can't find any.

Do you think it's a flawless team?

I think really as I was saying, Samsung's form is probably the only thing that might give them a slight concern with the batting.

Telecorma is also coming back from injury but he seemed in good form against the US in the warm.

So I think overall they, even though there is Samsung's form, they know Ishan Kishan is striking it beautifully and can easily take that opening spot.

So yeah, I don't know if there's really too much worry on the bowling front.

Sorry on the batting front.

But on the bowling front I think possibly the only cause of concern is one Kuldeep has had a few off days so he's our wicket taker.

He's solid of course and he'll obviously be excited to get into the World Cup.

And you know, the fact that we have four group stage games allows you to, you know, get into it a little bit, get a couple of matches under your belt.

But his form, especially when there's due is a little bit of a concern.

New Zealand were playing him really well in the recent series and then maybe Bumra coming back from, you know, injury and rest and all of that isn't 100% which is fine.

Like he's Bumrah, he's him at 90% might be good enough for most teams but I think those are probably the only two potential causes of concern.

But otherwise, as you said, like they have pretty much all bases covered.

They have wrist spinners, they have Varun.

If Kuldeep is out of form, they have a Patel who is fantastic with both bat and ball.

So yeah, pretty much every type of pitch, every phase of the innings they have, they know how to dominate.

And I was just reading today that, I mean this is a team that has no place for Shreya Sire, Shubman Gill and Yasha Sweejai as well.

I mean, that is just incredible to think about.

And also a big tournament for Surya Kumariadav because in all likelihood his last World Cup, I would think given his age and given how everybody's looking towards Gil to just, just come on in, get some form and take over the captain sea, it seems like everyone is just like wanting that for him.

So kind of a big, you know, this could be legacy defining for Surya Kumariyadha because, you know, before the Abhishek Sharmats and the Asian Kishins and, you know, Brinkus Dubeys, Tilak Varmas, all of these, you know, the OG trendsetter for India's T20s was Sirikumar Yadav.

So how much, how important do you think it is for him?

I mean, it's definitely important, but I will say he already has his legacy sealed with that catch in the last final.

Yeah, but, but yeah, I'm sure he's looking forward to like winning it as captain.

And he was also somebody who's having slight dip of form, but a couple of good innings against New Zealand in the recent T20 series.

So I'm sure he's feeling good about that.

And yeah, I mean, I think he's obviously a fantastic player, so he's going to make a big impact for sure.

I think, honestly, you know, from a legacy perspective, we obviously love to talk about all this as fans, but I don't even know if they're thinking about all that at this point.

He's, you're right, he's on the older side, so he would, he may not, you know, at least lead another World Cup.

Maybe he plays another T20 World cup since it's every two years.

But.

But yeah, I think they're probably just taking one game at a time and they have such a good squad that even when they're kind of out of it, they can always bounce back.

So I think that's all they're thinking at the moment.

And as they get close, maybe as they get close to the final, that's when he starts thinking about some of these things.

Also in that same bracket, how important do you think this tournament is for Gautam Gambir?

Oh, that I think is way more important than Surya Kumari.

Yeah, Gambir has had an interesting campaign.

Obviously the Asia cup win, Champions Trophy, you know, those are, those were mostly unexpected lines.

India was.

Is one of the best teams and ODI is probably the best team.

And in Asia in particular, they're substantially better than anybody else, so neither of that is surprising, but just the luck that they've had, as well as some, you know, regression in terms of their test quality, that has set them back, set them back quite a bit.

And Gambhir, obviously is not the most gracious of characters, which doesn't help him, you know, gets bashed in the media and the fans left, right, center, because of his almost arrogant statements.

So, yeah, he would definitely like a win.

I think considering how good they are if they somehow don't make it to the semi final, which I don't think it's happening, they're definitely getting the semis.

But if somehow they, you know, they have a bad period, couple of bad games, and they crash out of the Super Eights, I. I think there's a real chance Gambir might lose his job.

Yeah, he.

I mean, it is easy to really hate Gambira.

That's just a fact.

You know, he doesn't, like you said, he doesn't help his own case.

I mean, the merits of his, you know, his coaching, there's just so much there.

And we talked about it in previous episodes, too, so I don't want to go into it, but, yeah, it would be a massive, you know, he would be a massive magnet for everyone to turn their attention to if India doesn't go on to win this World Cup.

But as much as we've made it sound like this is all about India, there are other teams with their own star players in the mix.

Who do you think are some of the teams that could really challenge India in this tournament?

I mean, I think Australia is always there and thereabouts.

Definitely cannot rule them out.

If I start with Australia, they are, you know, they're.

They score quickly.

They have a lot of boundary hitters.

Their boundary percentage is actually higher than India's, although they lose more wickets.

So overall, they're a very good batting team.

I think they're finishing the last six hours or so in batting.

It has not been as strong in the last 18 months or so, but they have the likes of Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, people who are extraordinary, extraordinary hitters, but also very, very familiar with Indian conditions.

So I think that they'll really rely on them to improve that record and make big totals.

The one advantage that Australia does have is they are in a group where really Sri Lanka is the only other major team.

So they do get somewhat of an easier, Easier schedule to get into the World cup and.

And make it their own.

They.

They're Playing a few games in Sri Lanka, which, which will be fine because they do have good spinners.

They have Adam Zampa, of course, who's quite superb, but also they have a couple of other spinners that they've picked.

Not sure if they'll all play, but they also have part timers like Cooper Conley, Travis Head, so they have a few part timers to support Zampa as well if.

If more spin is needed, which is likely going to be the case in Sri Lanka in particular.

So overall a good squad.

There's probably a few things there with their batting finishing and then I think the pace attack looks a little bit thin to me and not thin in terms of names because obviously they have Josh Hazelwood and Pat.

Pat Cummins, but they both are coming back from injury and, and you know, haven't played a ton, so there's probably some rustiness there.

It'll take them a little bit to get into the tournament.

Um, so I think those are comments.

It's ruled out, by the way, so I don't even have him.

I did not know that.

Yeah, yeah, so.

So yeah, there's definitely.

On the baseballing front, there's probably some areas of concern for Australia, but I think just their batting and the fact that they have so many all rounders, you know, I don't know if Marcus Toyness is even going to play, but right from Cameron Green, Marcus Stoin is Glenn Maxwell, there's just a plethora of all rounders who give a lot of flexibility.

Mitch Marsh, the captain, of course.

So all of that, you know, makes them a very flexible lineup, which is obviously helpful when the World cup is across two countries with kind of different pitches.

Yeah, I think Australia, just because of their pedigree, you just can't rule them out of any world tournament.

Even if they've been in terrible form in the lead up to it.

And you know, with their recent loss in Pakistan, you know, some might just pause and, and wonder if they have it.

And then of course you look at the team and you see that they were not full strength.

So Australia for sure.

The team that I'm excited about to follow apart from India is South Africa, obviously heartbreaking and to their World cup last time and they've got a chance at doing this or going one step further this time.

Yes, India is in their way, but I think South Africa have got a pretty solid lineup themselves.

Maybe not as big stars as the Indian team has, but some of their hitters I'm really looking forward to outside, apart from Abhishek Sharma.

The other batter that I would kind of make time in my day to watch is Dual Brevis.

And I'm not saying that because he also plays for csk, but.

Oh, we hadn't noticed.

I, I just enjoy his batting style.

You know, even if he scores like 15 or 20 runs, it's like the swagger with the, which he walks in and the no look sixes that anybody hits a no looks six, I'm hooked.

But he's, he's got these crisp stroke making and when he gets on a roll, he's just incredible to watch.

Said they have him and I'm sure there will be a lot of, you know, attention on him as well.

Yes, they're, they're bowling, you know, they've got the names to go with it, you know, but they've not really been consistent because even if you look at, you know, even prior to the India series when they were in Australia, I think they won the first two games and third, they got hammered.

The bullets just, you know, got a thrashing.

So the bowling doesn't inspire a lot of confidence despite the big names.

But as we have seen, you know, T20 cricket in general, every team seems to have really improved with their power hitting.

So there's almost, you know, almost all teams are in it on an even keel.

Maybe India just one step ahead, which means that a team just needs to have a slightly better day than the other team to win.

So I'm, I'm thinking South Africa would be one of the teams to watch as well because they've got the team, they've got the team to go one step more and so I'm looking forward to that.

What are your thoughts on South Africa's, you know, captaincy under Aiden Markrum?

And you know, there's also the narrative for David Miller who's it's probably going to be his last tournament and especially be great if they can win after, you know, his near miss in the last World cup final.

I think South Africa and England are the hardest teams to gauge for this World cup and I say that because I was looking at win loss ratios and in since the last World Cup, South Africa have won 12 games and lost 20, which is shocking considering how good they are.

What is interesting though is that they've changed their team a lot.

So Quinton de Kock obviously has come up, come back from retirement.

There's quite a few others who've been rotated so they didn't have even Deval Brevis.

I don't Believe he was in the preliminary team that they had announced or maybe it was Stubbs.

One of them was not in the preliminary.

Yeah, and then he didn't.

He finally made it so.

So they've been chopping and changing quite a bit which is why they don't seem as settled.

My initial thought before I looked in a little more detail was also South Africa have got to be up there.

But as I look at them a little more, I'm not sure anymore.

I think they were.

Yeah, I think they're not as solid like again, they're batting as you were saying, top six is pretty stacked.

Deval Brevis is definitely one person I had called out in my recent note about a player to watch out for this World cup.

He's been averaging 38 and striking at 168 in T20s in the last 18 months and even in the SA20 final recently scored a 55 ball century.

So he's absolutely smacking it beautifully.

I, I do think he's going to have a solid World cup but I just don't think they're as finished products because, well, one David Miller who you talked about, it appears that he's either injured or he's not playing as often.

So his form and, and fitness seem to be a little bit of a concern.

So I think that's one aspect of it and I think the other aspect is to your point, like they have all these really good batsmen.

I don't know if everybody knows their roles like Ryan Rickleton of course is going to open.

Quinton de Kock is likely going to open, but the others have kind of shuffled around so I don't know if they're very clear on who plays where.

I think Stubbs and Miller are probably bottom but.

But yeah, there's just some, you know, some sense of constant change with the middle order and so I do think that's something they'll need to figure out.

Can they do it?

Absolutely.

They're, they're superbly talented team but I just don't think they're as settled as, as I thought.

I mean, you know, they, after they won the World Test Championship, there's been a lot of talk about how they've broken that, you know, that curse, so to speak, of being able to go all the way.

And then after their Test series win in India last year, there was more chatter about how this is an upward trajectory.

But I think it's important to note that was in test cricket and in limited overs, it's still yet to be Seen especially in crunch situations.

You know, in, in the World Cup.

I'm rooting for them outside of India.

They, they'll be my second team as they are in most tournaments.

Let's talk about England and New Zealand.

You know, any other year I feel it would not be too bold of a statement to say they would be top favorites because, you know, broadly speaking, both teams have got great hitters and they've got smart, limited over bowlers, but you go a little deep in and they've got a lot of flaws.

What stands out for you for these two teams?

Yeah, I mean, I'll start with England, so kind of similar to how I mentioned about, you know, just a team that's constantly changing for South Africa.

That's honestly what I feel about England.

Since that last World Cup.

I think they are the, they are the only major team to not even play 30 T20Is.

So they've played, I believe, including this ongoing series, 25 or 26.

And during this time, only six players have featured in 10 or more T20s out of which one is Liam Livingston.

He's not even on the flight to India.

So yeah, it feels like they are.

Obviously this is the complexity of just judging the T20 game these days because all these stars really do well in all these different franchise leagues.

So unless you're keeping up with each franchise league, you're like, oh wait, they haven't actually played together.

So is this combination even going to work for England?

So that's kind of one, one thing that stands out for me.

And the other thing is England's bowling, fast bowling in particular.

I think their spinners are solid, Adil Rashid is awesome and Liam Dawson seems to be finding some form, but their pacers are kind of all over the place.

Joffre just came back from injury and he's trying to, you know, get some match practice under his belt.

But they've even picked somebody like Josh Tung who's usually a red ball specialist.

So kind of just goes back to basball and the whole vibes selection.

That is what it, their, their pace attack gives me.

There's, there's, I don't know, it just doesn't feel as solid.

So.

And most years I would agree with you, England would be up there and especially in the T20 format, but I think they're a little bit behind Australia and India, at least for me going into this World Cup.

What do you think about, you know, the, the leadership that England has right now because Harry.

Harry Brook, his first major tournament as a, as a captain.

Got a lot of bad press recently and there's of course the most famous coach in international cricket these days, Bass McCollum.

Obviously a very disappointing tour down under recently and under whom it seems like the limited over performances have been kind of all over the place too, you know, not.

It hasn't been too great.

How important do you think this is for those two?

I mean it's.

I think it's really important for both.

It seems like Baz has gotten away with that Azure store like that.

I feel like the narrative has changed quite a bit because when they were 31 down and looking down for looking at a fourth defeat, it felt like oh yeah, he's definitely gone.

And suddenly, slowly and surely the narrative changed and Dropkey and everybody seems to have kept their olds, which surprised me a little bit.

Especially considering all the news about Harry Brook that that came out after.

So yeah, I mean I think from Harry Brooks perspective, very, very important tournament that they at least get to the semi finals considering their pedigree just because yeah, he's obviously an incredibly talented player.

All of that is not untrue.

But clearly the discipline issue and on the New Zealand tour the fact that it was hidden and all of that does not show good and these things like sometimes you just have to perform on feel to quieten out all that noise.

So I'm really, I really think he's hoping to do that.

Let's go to New Zealand.

You know, I was really surprised by their performance against India in the recently concluded T20 series.

I mean sure India is like really having an amazing run and you know, the power hitters are all finding great form and the bowlers, they just know their roles, especially in Indian conditions.

But what I was surprised was the New Zealand team are making a lot of mistakes that I've never seen them make.

There were so many missed fields, dropped catches, players just seemed almost like they had given up at many points, which I can understand from other teams, but it seemed very un New Zealand.

Like do you think that's just an aberration or do you think that's an accurate reflection of how that T20 team is shaping up?

I think that might be just a couple of off days.

Yeah, I generally think there's a lot to like in that New Zealand side and I think one of the things that they do well is just prepare and overperform in ICC tournaments.

So they, they just put in all that work and I think they've done the same.

They've been in India for a month playing ODIs and T20s.

So I think all of that experience plus the fact that a lot of these Kiwis play in the IPL gives them a lot of just local knowledge and, you know, being conditioned to doing well in these, these conditions.

Yeah, I mean they've, they've probably made some mistakes in that, in that tournament, but I, I do put that down to just India being supremely good rather than New Zealand being poor.

Of course there's, every team has a few bad moments and all of that, but otherwise I think they're, they're probably the team that bowls the best in the power play.

They have an incredible record of taking wickets early and Jacob Duffy in particular is, has had supreme success in the last 18 months, you know, taking a ton of wickets and in the power play, Matt Henry's always solid with the new ball.

So with that combination, I think they just have enough to break a lot of top orders, you know, especially teams that depend on their openers and top three a lot.

You know, teams like Sri Lanka or teams like that will, will be fearful of what New Zealand can do because they are so good at taking a couple of wickets, at least a couple of wickets in the power play.

And he's here, he's been, he's been batting beautifully.

Mitch Satner, who you know, was always a spinner who could bat a little bit, has increased his power hitting substantially.

He's a much better lower order hitter now.

So I think that just gives them a lot of depth.

So all in all, I actually really like New Zealand and I think they might be a definite semi finalist, at least for me.

They've had to deal with quite a few injuries recently and then at least two of their players might go on paternity leave in the middle of the tournament.

So that'll be interesting to see.

Oh, I didn't know that.

Which players are these?

I, I will tell you because I just read it on cricket.

That is quite amazing.

They were like, world cup is okay.

We gotta Go in.

I know.

I was just thinking, you know, if Sadulgavaskar was Indian, he would be just like fuming.

Yeah.

That they would even consider that.

But I do think the other aspect, while you look that up, the other aspect is I think the best group stage game or the most tight group stage game is going to be New Zealand, South Africa, because I think that group is probably the tightest.

That group has those two teams and Afghanistan, who are by no means pushovers.

So I think that is probably going to decide which is, which qualifies as the first or second team in that group.

And yeah, it could really shape like not just the super aids, but who gets to the semi final.

Let's move on to the Asian teams here.

Well, two specifically, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

I haven't really followed much of Sri Lanka's T20 cricket recently and Pakistan, you know, they don't seem to have, at least to my knowledge, they don't seem to have like the, the, the big performers performing the way that they normally do, but they still seem to be getting the results.

You know, they defeated Australia recently, but prior to that, you know, the Asia cup, they made it to the final and almost beat India at the final.

It was, it was quite close.

So what do you think about these two teams?

Yeah, I'll start with Sri Lanka.

I think they are a good bowling side.

There's, there's no doubt about it.

And, and the fact that they'll be playing at home will really help them, I think, with their spinners.

Hasaranga, of course, will be, you know, the main spinner, but there's Tik Sena, who's, who's probably going to bowl a few in the power play as well, potentially.

So they have a good variety of spin.

They have Pathirana, who's definitely a handful in terms of seam bowling and has got a great Yorker.

So I think they have a good bowling attack overall.

I think where they struggle, it almost feels like the same thing with Afghanistan because they another team that has a solid bowling attack, but they just don't have enough power hitters.

So they end up playing the 160, you know, 150, 170 type of T20s, which I think is going to work fine for Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.

But the moment they get to India, that's going to be a completely different story because I think the Indian grounds are, or just generally have been a lot more high scoring and I think that is where they'll struggle a little more if they, they're expected to chase 200 or even set a target of 200.

I just don't see this Sri Lankan side having that.

Their batting is so reliable on Kushal Pereira and you know, there's not a ton of others who can consistently score at a strike rate greater than 130, 140.

Yeah, I, you know, I, I think back to, you know, when Sri Lanka won the T20 World cup and how, because hard to forget how they won that tournament considering it was India who played in the final and lost anyway.

And you could look back at the team and you can like easily name like quite a few match winners.

And right now, you know, Sri Lanka seems to be one of those teams who, who got a lot of good players but not, they don't have the one big star or, you know, at least, or at least two of them who can play like a crucial role in a critical part of the game.

So yeah, I would be shocked if they, you know, win more than like a handful of games.

But let's talk about Pakistan.

Obviously we talked a little bit about the fact that they're not, at least at this point in time, are gonna boycott the game against India.

But outside of that, what do you make of the team that they've assembled?

I mean, I think it's a pretty good team in terms of the conditions that they're gonna play again.

They're gonna play majority or all of their matches at least as much as possible in Sri Lanka.

And as I was saying, like spin is gonna be handy there and they've picked a lot of spinners and the good news for them is Shahdab Khan, the spinning all rounder as well as Abrar has been, both have been in really good form, both are bowling really well.

So I think that plays really well into their, into their, you know, going into this World Cup.

But in terms of just changing their batting, which has always been known to be a little more conservative than other countries in T20s, they've changed that up as well.

They don't have, you know, Babur and Mohammed Rizwan opening the batting and taking all the time in the world.

So I think it's definitely a step in the right direction.

Have they completely solved that problem?

Probably not.

But I do think Sam Ayub, who's the new left handed opener, is, is the man for the future.

I think he's still raw but he definitely has the shots and he's aggressive and so he's going to be good to watch for sure.

He, since you talked about being impressed with no look sixes.

His no look shot over fine leg is one that catches my imagination every time and yeah, I look forward to seeing him.

I think at the end of the day in the group that they are in with India, assuming that India match doesn't go ahead and they lose the points there, really the only other major team that could push them is, is Netherlands.

They also play USA whom they lost to in the last World Cup.

But I really don't think this team is gonna mess up again and lose against, against the U.S. especially considering Aaron Jones, the former U.S. captain is now out of this World cup with the match fixing allegations.

So.

So yeah, considering all of that, I think Netherlands might try to push Pakistan, but apart from that, it's going to be a comfortable, you know, group stage for them, especially if they're not playing India.

Then there's really.

They should win all the other games and qualify for the Super Eights.

You know, I can't even imagine the logistical circus it is going to be if Pakistan are going to make it to the final because are India going to be like, all right, let's have the final in Sri Lanka or are they going to force Pakistan to come and play in India?

It's, I think it's an incentive for organizers that if Pakistan don't really progress past to that stage.

But that's a problem for another day, I guess.

By the way, Lockheed Ferguson and Matt Hendry are the two players who may take paternity leave during.

Wow.

The tournament.

And that's like two important pacers right there.

So yeah, it'll be, it'll be interesting to see if they actually go through with it.

All right, to round off, let's talk about the rest of the teams, including, you know, you know, the associate teams.

Actually we didn't go in depth on West Indies or Afghanistan.

So yeah, the rest of the teams, including West Indies in Afghanistan.

You know, I see that Italy is in the tournament for the first time.

Really fascinated.

Yeah.

What do you make of the, the remaining teams?

I mean, I think Afghanistan is probably definitely one to talk about.

They've, as I was saying about Sri Lanka, really solid bowling lineup and New Ramad in particular has been superb in terms of, you know, elevating his game from how good he was.

He was already pretty solid, but he's just become a lot more consistent and he's been taking a lot of wickets.

And then of course there's Rashid Khan and Mujeem who are, I think teams have gotten used to them because they play a lot of Franchise cricket, bbl, ipl, all of that.

But nonetheless they're still solid.

They're not usually leaking runs.

So that along with the Pacers that Afghanistan have another team that can, if they can manage to restrict teams to 160, 170, they probably have a chance with their open openers, Zadran and Garbaz.

So I think it's a good unit.

It's hard to rule out Afghanistan just because one they are.

Their bowling is solid and that it will stumble upon stumble some teams but the other reason is they're playing in India conditions which are really well suited to them.

So yeah it's, it's hard to see them making the semi finals but it's not impossible.

I, I do think there is a chance that they might make the semis and of course the group that they are in is, is definitely the toughest group to get out of because there's New Zealand and South Africa.

But I think what they will try and fancy is the fact that they play New Zealand in Chennai which is obviously a sprint spin friendly surface.

So that might be their best chance of making a run for the Super Eights.

I think West Indies, I have more mixed thoughts.

Yeah, they've just not been the most consistent team.

So they've.

They played against, I think they're record against Bangladesh.

I know Bangladesh is not in the World cup anymore but against Bangladesh in the last 18 months was 3 3.

So they lost 313 20s 13 Nepal has beaten them.

Nepal is in the same group as West Indies.

So yeah, I mean do I expect Nepal to beat them at the world stage?

Probably not.

But having said that, yeah, they're, they're definitely a team which has quite a few challenges.

Like their bowling is not as solid as they would have liked and to add add to that their middle order is really good, really explosive with Hetmeyer and Shepherd and a number of others.

You know, even Jason Hunter can, Jason Holder can be somebody who is handful with the bat but their top order isn't the most inspirational.

So yeah, I think West Indies, I think if they make it to the Super 8 stock it won't be a surprise.

But it'll be a surprise at least to me if they go past that.

Any other teams there or players from any other teams there that you want to, you know, a special mention for them.

I mean I think the other teams are a little bit hard to track, you know, considering we don't see them in as many games or at Least as many games with the major nations.

The, the one team that is worth mentioning is uae, who's, you know, they.

I'm not saying they're going to qualify for the Super Eights, but, but they will probably have some spinners who could be handy in Indian conditions.

So again, that they're already playing three solid teams in Afghanistan, New Zealand and South Africa.

So not expecting them to make the Super Eights, but that's probably a team to watch.

And then I don't think Zimbabwe can be completely ruled out.

I think they'll play some good cricket because one, they have, you know, good talent, but two, in the fact that they're playing in a few games in Sri Lanka and have somebody like Sikandaraza, who has been superb with both bat and ball, give them a slight chance.

So I think they'll be probably the third best team of that group after Australia and Sri Lanka.

I, I'm trying to think of any other players.

I know you mentioned Italy, obviously.

Exciting to see Italy, you know, Cricket World Cup.

That's.

That's pretty awesome.

I, I looked at their, you know, like on the points table, it displays the flag, each country.

I looked at Italy and I was like, what is this doing in a cricket one?

You know, it's, it's normal to see it in like a football points table.

It feels really strange to see the Italian flag in a cricket points table.

Yeah, yeah.

And I think they.

Joe Burns, the former Australian cricketer, was, was captain when they qualified, but I believe he's out now, so he's not even in the squad anymore.

So, yeah, it'll be interesting.

They do have a couple of other players coming from other countries.

I think J.J. smuts from South Africa is now playing for Italy, so they do have some experience, I think same case with Namibia.

But yeah, it's going to be a challenge for them to, you know, go up against the top teams.

You know, the team that among all of these, the team that I'm most curious to see how they're going to do is Nepal.

Not just because of the lead up to the tournament itself, because it seems like in terms of infrastructure, they're headed in the right direction.

They're getting a lot of support, both financially and they got the fan base.

I mean, we know that, but their players too, I was like looking at the ages and they're a fairly young team and a lot of them will be playing together for many, many years, unlike most of the other associate teams.

And also they're in a group that has England and West Indies, I mean, they've got a very good chance of defeating one or both of those teams.

So.

I'm actually, I think that group is going to be very fascinating to watch.

I agree that there's a lot happening there with, you know, like on their day, Scotland and Nepal both can challenge West Indies.

So yeah, that should be a fun group to watch.

All right, let's do some predictions before we have our closing thoughts on the World Cup.

Actually, let's do it this way.

I got the points, the groups in front of me, and so there are four groups, five teams each, and two teams from each group will go through to the Super 8.

So let's do predictions that way rather than just throw like three or four names.

Right.

Group A, India, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan, usa.

Who are your top two?

Pretty easy.

India, Pakistan.

I agree.

I, I just don't think Namibia, Netherlands or USA are going to make a break for it because none of those teams are going to challenge India and Pakistan.

You know, they're not like you said earlier, I think they're an improvement from their previous World cup campaign, the team that was there.

So I think this is going to be a very, very straightforward group.

I agree.

India and Pakistan.

Group B, we've got Australia, Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

I, I do like Ireland and Zimbabwe, but yeah, I just don't think they'll playing Sri Lanka at home, they'll be able to beat them.

I, I think Australia is anyways, you know, head and shoulders above the rest in that group.

So yeah, I think that that's an easy one as well.

Yeah, I was trying to think, is there a way, you know, one of these other teams can exploit a bad day for Australia and Sri Lanka?

And my take is that I don't think anyone can, you know, even if Australia is, you know, having a bad day, I just can't see them overpowering them to win it.

Maybe one of the other teams in the other groups, like one of the lesser fancy teams in the other groups, but not these three.

Sri Lanka, maybe.

I was gonna say I was gonna make a contrary point just for the sake of it, which is okay that Sri Lanka has had a lot of rain, at least they're ongoing series, there's been rain interruptions, so maybe, maybe that's what we get.

Maybe Australia and Sri Lanka have one of these teams rained out, so share points and then that or even like.

A rain affected game, a shortened game.

And yeah, maybe that.

Okay, okay, let's, let's watch out.

But at this point, Australia and Sri Lanka from this group, Group C has England, Italy, Nepal, Scotland, and West Indies.

Again, I think this is going to be a fascinating group.

What are your picks?

I'm gonna go Nepal and England.

England, of course, number one, but I'm gonna go Nepal over West Indies.

Okay.

You know, I was just thinking England doesn't do well with other European teams, so Italy.

Forget Scotland.

Italy has a good chance against England based on that logic.

And Scotland.

Yes.

So you're thinking Nepal over West Indies.

Actually, who's to say that it won't be Nepal and West Indies?

You know, that would be.

That would be awesome from a World cup perspective.

But, yeah, at that point, don't see that happening.

At that point, my column should just, like, quit.

Like, come on.

Yeah, you can't get any worse.

I think England for sure.

I'm gonna go with West Indies.

Nepal is good, but I just can't see Western.

I think it's just hard for me to see West Indies not making it out of this group.

You know, if it was a team that is slightly stronger than Nepal, then I would say, yes, likely that they make the cut, but it will be interesting.

I'm looking forward to this group, the games of this group, but I'm gonna go with England and West Indies for now.

Group D, Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and uae.

Oh, this one?

I don't know one or two.

But yeah, it's.

As I said, it's really that one or two gets decided by that New Zealand, South Africa game.

I think Afghanistan is going to push both these nations, particularly maybe New Zealand.

But, yeah, I think they're.

There's still a very good spin side that plays spin well, so I think they're both going to be fine.

You're going with South Africa and New Zealand, Correct.

Okay, yeah, same.

I would love if Afghanistan can make it out of that group because, you know, they just have the team for the conditions.

But I think the T20 game of new Zealand and South Africa, even with all of their flaws, are pretty solid in that I think they can overcome Afghanistan.

I think Canada and UAE will.

Will be decent, but I just don't see them making a dent unless it's against each other.

So I'm gonna go with New Zealand and South Africa as well.

All right, so those are.

I think we have.

We're in agreement with all except Nepal versus West Indies.

You went with Nepal.

All right, so by that logic, if you go by the predetermined seating for the Super 8 stage group, again, it's only one team.

That we're not in agreement.

So group.

I guess it's called the X group.

It's called group one, I think group one.

Okay.

So group one will have India, Australia, West Indies or Nepal and South Africa.

So South Africa or New Zealand.

Oh, did you say.

No, hold on.

New Zealand is in the other group.

So the other group will have England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Oh, New Zealand is also pre decided as being.

Yeah, they're also.

Yeah, they're also preceded there.

Seated two.

Oh, that's right.

I see it now.

Yeah.

So group one out of India, Australia, West Indies and South Africa.

I think this is pretty straightforward, too.

I. I think in that group one, it's likely it.

It could come down to South Africa.

Australia.

I think Australia is really good, but South Africa does have it in them to, you know, throw a battle and throw an upset in.

So I think the semifinalists from that group are.

I'm going to say India and Australia, but I do think there's an outside chance at South Africa.

I'll go one step further and say the India and South Africa.

I think, you know, we talked a little bit about it.

Australia's bowling stocks are not as great as they were.

They got fine, you know, decent bowling lineup.

I think Adam Zampa is going to be, like one of the key players for them.

But maybe part of it is just me rooting for South Africa, but I'm also thinking that, you know, man to man, I think Australia can falter.

This might just be the time they falter.

And South Africa, maybe they've learned a lot from handling the pressure during the welters championship final, even though most of those players are probably not in this team.

But just that mindset change maybe will help them this time.

So the third team, obviously.

So you don't think Nepal is gonna make it to the semi final.

It's not happening.

Yeah.

West Indies, it'll be great to see them in there, but yeah, even if they did make it to the Super 8, they're not going to the semi.

So.

And is India and Australia for you?

India and South Africa for me.

All right, the next group is England.

New Zealand.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

England and New Zealand.

I mean, I think both.

That's a tough group, honestly, like, on their day, like, Pakistan can.

Can definitely upset both.

And Sri Lanka, especially because they'll have some home games will be handy.

But I just.

Yeah, I'm gonna say England and New Zealand.

I'm gonna say New Zealand and Pakistan.

That would be more fun.

I agree.

I Just see, because Pakistan playing in Sri Lanka, utilizing the spin friendly conditions to their advantage, especially against England, who.

I can just see them tripping over themselves and, you know, collapsing at the worst possible time.

Not like there's any good time for a collapse, but I can see them kind of crumbling at one stage.

And New Zealand just being New Zealand, they're going to be clinical and somehow make it to the semis.

So, yeah, New Zealand and Pakistan for me.

So let's make sure we record this because last time we did our predictions and then I completely forgot what my predictions were.

At least I'm gonna make sure I got this right.

So you got India and Australia in group one, and then you got England and New Zealand.

And I got India, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan.

So we do diverge with two teams.

Yeah, you know, different teams.

I'm almost rooting for yours because I think if your prediction comes true, it'll be a way more fun World Cup.

Yes, yes.

I think India, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan in the top four makes for a much more.

I don't know about the quality of the cricket itself, but it will be entertaining.

Much more entertaining than India, Australia, England and New Zealand.

All right, so boils down to who.

Forget the top two.

I mean, we already broke it down to top four.

I guess this is not even gonna be a debate, but you see which team lifting the World Cup.

I think it's gonna be India.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I.

Same.

I mean, there's nothing more to be said.

They.

They just have all bases covered.

They're playing at home, their captain is back in form, Everything is just lined up for them.

I. I don't think it's nefarious to say that all of the advantages in their favor, I mean, it's just how it is.

You know, they're playing at home like most teams get a chance to play at home, at least the big teams.

And they are just in the perfect spot where all their players are just like in Great Neck.

And so, yeah, it'll be a shocker if India don't win this World cup.

And if they don't, trust me, we'll be hearing about it for a long time.

All right, so closing thoughts.

You know, players to watch out for or players that you're looking forward to or any interesting narratives that you think could happen or you wish to see would happen.

I don't know if I have a narrative in mind, but I think the player I'm looking forward to watching a little bit is Max o'.

Dowd.

I think that's how he's pronounced the Dutch opener.

He has a pretty fun YouTube channel, which is worth checking out.

He's been, I think they've been in India for two, three weeks and he's been just.

I don't know if he has a GoPro or something, but he's been just recording things on his YouTube channel and how they practice, how they've been preparing.

And he's a good hard hitting batsman.

So I'll probably look forward to, you know, somebody a little bit unknown comparatively.

And then I think the other one is just Nur Ahmed.

I think he's, yeah, he's just taken his game to another level and if he and the Afghanistan team managed to pull something, maybe we don't even get New Zealand and South Africa.

So that would really open up the World Cup.

So, yeah, I think those are the two things I'll probably hope for the most.

I want an India Pakistan final.

I just, I just live for the drama, you know, I want to see people struggling to make this all work and, you know, and nobody being happy.

I think, I mean, even just for the cricket, I think, you know, the Asia cup final just showed that, yeah, for all of the big names, for all of the run of form that each team had respectively, you put them in a final and people like hesitate, people like overthink and you know, people like players who've been doing the same thing every day and performing consistently, suddenly don't perform in the biggest moment of their career.

So I think it would just be great to watch an India Pakistan final.

I mean, that's my wish list, but I think it's more possible that it's, you know, between India and one of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

And I think it'll be just a very straightforward win for India unless Australia is the final and Travis Head is like, wait a minute, I beat them in the World Test Championship final.

I beat them in NFT over final.

I have this one thing to check off my list.

So if Australia make it to the final, I'm going to be a little bit wary.

I think there's a chance that Travis Head will mess it up for India.

But yeah, this is what I'm hoping for.

I, I think it's going to be a good tournament.

I think even with India having established, you know, they're the trendsetters now and they're the team in form.

But then you have all of these teams, but they are players who all have, you know, different narratives, different journeys to how, you know, they made it Here.

So it is going to be a fascinating few weeks and it'll be refreshing for me at least.

I.

Personally speaking, like I mentioned earlier, there's just so much cricket happening that it all becomes a blur at some point.

I mean, gone are the days when I would be so excited for a World cup because that World cup would come only once every four years.

So I would.

I would have a scrapbook where I would like, actually print out, not pronounce or cut out pictures from the newspapers of all my favorite players and do like my own version of like, this is like the dream Asia 11.

Where's.

You know, like, those are from my childhood and like, that's how I look forward to the World cup and really psyched myself up.

And now it's like, oh, there's another World Cup.

Oh, after this, there's another one next year.

And so that same spark of excitement is not there all the time for me as a cricket fan.

So when something like this comes along, even though it's not quite the same as it was for me when I was much younger, it's still a World cup or a World Championship where all the teams come out and try their best to win that trophy.

So it will be great.

And I'm really looking forward to watching Abhishek Sharma.

I think he's my number one player to watch just because of how he's just in the span of what, two years, become like the player, the number one batter in the world, you know, in the rankings.

But also even without it, he's just so exciting to watch because he just goes there with the intent.

A lot of people talk about intent in batting in T20s, but he, like, lives it.

And so I'm really fascinated.

I'm really excited to see how he goes about it.

So it should be a good tournament.

Any other thoughts before we wrap it up?

I was just.

And the final was Australia and New Zealand, so we never know.

Wow.

After all of that.

No, not happening.

I just, I mean, yes, but I.

Think it's gonna be one of them, not both of them.

That's what I'll say.

Right, Right.

Yeah, that.

That's definitely very much possible.

I'm just like thinking about, you know, leading aside, you know, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and all those teams like India, the Indian team of that era.

Right.

Even though it's only like what, four years ago, they just did not have the mindset that they do have now.

I mean, absolutely not even the team that won, you know, the last World Cup.

I mean, it was almost like a last minute mindset change where they're like, okay, we're gonna go and bat aggressively.

I'm like, what were you doing all these years?

That's the whole point.

Right.

And since then, the team has only gone into overdrive because now you.

There's, there are no breaks in this team.

Everyone just comes in and just starts hitting straight away.

And that mindset is also like now shifted to the bowling where it's not just about.

It's a lot more strategic, I feel.

You know, something like, I mean, we haven't talked about this at all, but like, you know, Jaspreet Bumra and any other team would probably be bowling the first two overs every game.

Right.

To close out the game.

But this team has the luxury of playing around where he can be brought in after the power play or the latter half of the innings.

A team that has Kuldeep and Chakravarti and then you also have Bishnoi who doesn't get a, A run, an extended run.

Yeah.

So I just don't see that happening.

I think it's all really India's.

It's really India's.

Welcome to lose.

Yeah, that's it.

That's the bottom line.

So it will be, it will be interesting how they get there, but I do expect them to get there.

But on that note, thanks, Mike.

Thanks for hopping on the call and talking some cricket.

It's been a while and hopefully we will get to do more and maybe during the World cup or even right after, we can do kind of a debrief and then see how we did our predictions.

But to our listeners, thank you for listening.

Please stay tuned for future episodes.

We'll.

We'll try to do more of those, especially as it relates to the World cup and what comes out of it.

But thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time.