1 JUL 2024 · Saturday, June 29, will be remembered for ages in Indian cricket history. It was an emotional moment for many who had witnessed heartbreak after heartbreak over the last decade. Rohit Sharma’s India ended an 11-year wait for the International Cricket Council (ICC title) title, beating South Africa in one of the most thrilling finals in the history of the men’s T20 World Cup. Rohit led from the front throughout the campaign. Virat Kohli stepped up when it mattered the most—in the final. Head coach Rahul Dravid signed off on a high, singing a redemption story in the Caribbean. Every decision that the team management and selectors made regarding the T20 World Cup paid off, resulting in India winning their second T20 World Cup crown. Being Rohit, Dravid, and Kohli has not been easy in the last 3-4 years. Rohit Sharma was gutted and heartbroken after the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad. An entire nation felt the pain. Dravid’s credentials as a T20I coach were questioned in 2022. Kohli’s place in the World Cup squad was questioned when he returned to the T20I side in January. All of them proved their naysayers wrong. Rohit and Kohli signed off from T20Is at the right time. Dravid ended his coaching stint on a high. There were other heroes as well. Jasprit Bumrah stood out from the rest and showed why he is one of the best in the world. Arshdeep Singh stepped up and created a record performance that will be remembered for the ages. Axar Patel emerged as India’s new all-round hero. Suryakumar Yadav chipped in with crucial contributions. It was a complete team effort. What next for India? Will Gautam Gambhir take over? Should Hardik Pandya replace Rohit Sharma as the T20I captain? Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar and Alan Jose John celebrate India’s T20 World Cup triumph and issue an unconditional apology. Tune in! Produced and Mixed By Sachin Dwivedi

28 JUN 2024 · Adelaide 2022 has been avenged. India's pursuit of an ICC title appears on track after a 68-run mauling of England in Guyana. England were handed a proper drubbing and this victory will feel a lot sweeter for India as they have made light work of the reigning champions. After the defending champions crashed out in Guyana, English media started crying foul, questioning ICC's decision to allot the second semi-final to India irrespective of their Super Eight standing and the fact that Rohit Sharma's men were the only top side not to play a single match under lights during the entire tournament.  India's campaign in the tournament has mirrored their performance in the home ODI World Cup last year. They cruised into the final unbeaten, only to be outdone by Australia on the big stage. This time, they remain unbeaten and have been the standout team of the tournament. Crucially, Australia, who thwarted their hopes previously, are not in their path to an elusive trophy. South Africa, whose sole ICC event victory was in the 1998 Champions Trophy (then called the ICC Knock-Out Trophy), approached the final with their hopes and dreams. Often labeled as "chokers" throughout their international cricket history, the Proteas are determined to shed this reputation at the Kensington Oval. After having tasted contrasting outcomes in the WTC final and ODI World Cup final, Barbados 2024 could complete the redemption arc for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid and Team India. The Indian fans had to suffer twin heartbreaks at the hands of Australia, first in the WTC final in England and then the 2023 World Cup final at home. But now, the unbeaten run presents Rohit an opportunity to finally redeem himself after losing two ICC finals albeit in different formats. In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Saurabh Kumar, Kingshuk Kusari and podcast debutant Rishabh Beniwal preview the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 between India and South Africa. Tune in! Produced and Mixed By Sachin Dwivedi

25 JUN 2024 · Rohit Sharma certainly did not have Monday morning blues. The India captain tore into the Australian bowling attack, ensuring Australia got their payback for the ODI World Cup heartbreak. Rohit batted like a man possessed and decimated Australia, ensuring India's unbeaten run to the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals. How much credit should Rohit Sharma get for showing the way with a fearless approach? At 37, The captain has been open to changing his approach and playing a selfless brand of cricket. He hit 8 sixes in his 41-ball 92 against Australia, shutting down naysayers who questioned his big-match temperament. After successfully knocking out Australia, India's next target for revenge was England. Jos Buttler's men hammered India by 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final. However, with a fearless approach, this Indian team will be a tough nut to crack. India is the team to beat, and England has been dangerous. A cracker of a semi-final awaits us in Guyana on Thursday, June 27. Meanwhile, Afghanistan scripted history, beating Bangladesh and qualifying for the men's T20 World Cup semi-final for the first time. They were on a giant-killing spree, beating New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh. Will they start as favourites against South Africa in the first semi-final? Can the Proteas shed the 'C' tag and reach their maiden T20 World Cup final? And what did you make of Gulbadin Naib's time-wasting tactics in the thriller between Afghanistan and Bangladesh? Are Australia right in cribbing about it? Akshay Ramesh, Alan Jose John and Debodinna Chakraborty preview what promises to be two cracking semifinals. Tune in! Produced and Mixed By Sachin Dwivedi  

21 JUN 2024 · Jasprit Bumrah has looked a million dollar in the T20 World Cup 2024. He has 15 overs so far and conceded just four boundaries. He has 8 wickets at an economy rate of less than four runs per over. Yes, India is certainly blessed to have him in their team. The legendary West Indies pacer Ian Bishop calls him a ‘generational’ fast bowler. Brian Lara said he is India’s greatest cricketer of this era. But does he need an ICC title to prove his greatness? Pat Cummins, a modern-day great, has been a serial winner of ICC titles, and his winning spree has helped him further his legacy. Will Bumrah not be considered one of the finest if he doesn’t inspire India to an ICC title? Returning to the ongoing T20 World Cup, India began their Super 8s campaign with a thumping win over Afghanistan. There were doubts over India’s ability to perform on slow and sluggish pitches in the Caribbean, especially after they played all their group-stage games in the USA. But India silenced all critics with a comprehensive win over Rashid Khan’s men in Barbados on Thursday. Does India have the best team to counter these conditions? Are they looking unbeatable again? Can they go all the way without losing a match? Will it be different this time? We don’t need another heartbreak. Do we?  In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar, and Kingshuk Kusari analyse India’s chances of ending their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought based on evidence from their performances in the group stage and the first Super 8 game against Afghanistan. Tune in! Produced and Mixed By: Kapil Dev Singh

18 JUN 2024 · India has reached the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup without losing a single game. India has now travelled to the West Indies for the Super 8 stages and will face Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Should India change their playing XI, given the conditions will be much more spin-friendly? If so, who gets dropped from playing XI? Many fans on social media have argued for the exclusion of Ravindra Jadeja, given that neither has the all-rounder scored any runs in group stages nor has he picked up any wickets. But will India be brave to drop a senior Indian player to accommodate a specialist spinner like Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal? The Indian team has a slight concern about Virat Kohli. Kohli has scored 1,4, and 0 in the three matches in the group stage, and there are murmurs if the batter should return to the No. 3 position, which might give the Indian team better stability on slower surfaces. Should Kohli return to his role as a grafter in the Indian batting line-up and play the longer innings without worrying about his strike rate? Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar and Kingshuk Kusari had previewed the teams in the Super 8s and discussed their chances of reaching the semi-finals. The three also discussed the struggles of the Indian batting unit and how the Indian team might overcome that challenge with a single tweak in their composition. The Sri Lankan side has also complained about tournament scheduling. Captain Wanindu Hasaranga and spinner Maheesh Theekshana lashed out at the T20 World Cup 2024 schedule, which sees them play in four different venues. Sri Lanka lost its first match of the campaign to South Africa, which was played in New York. After this, they will play Bangladesh in Dallas on June 7 and then head to Florida to face Nepal four days later. In contrast, a team like India has been stationed in New York and will play 3 out of 4 group-stage matches at the Nassau County Stadium. In the latest episode of the Sledging Room podcast, Saurabh Kumar, Kingshuk Kusari and Alan Jose John unpack various issues that teams have faced in the first week of this T20 World Cup. Tune in! Produced and Mixed By: Sachin Dwivedi

10 JUN 2024 · How can you not chase 120 when you know the tournament is on the line? The biggest match of the T20 World Cup saw Pakistan do a Pakistan. It was worse. Never has Pakistan been this listless with the bat in a major tournament in the recent past. After a shock defeat to the USA, who are playing a men's T20 World Cup for the first time, Pakistan were humbled by their arch-rivals India in New York on Monday. Pakistan bowlers gave it their all after the run of green went Babar Azam's way at the toss. Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir and Haris Rauf bowled their hearts out to restrict the mighty Indian batting unit for just 119 in New York. However, there was no intent throughout the chase, with Babar Azam failing early and Mohammad Rizwan lacking common sense; Pakistan choked in the chase, losing by 6 runs. The defeat has pushed Pakistan to the brink of elimination. The 2022 finalists are set to exit without even making it to the Super 8s this year. Who should take the blame for Pakistan's horror show? Is it the cricket board? Keep in mind that captains were changed, and new coaches were brought in just months before the T20 World Cup. There is pressure on Babar Azam. Is it time for him to go as captain? Is it time for him to quit T20I cricket? Are Pakistan playing outdated cricket? Plenty of questions as the Green Shirts implode on the biggest stage. India, on the other hand, has won two in two. But they are not yet looking like title contenders. In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Akshay Ramesh, Kingshuk Kusari, and Alan John discuss Pakistan's T20I team's downfall. Tune in! Produced and Mixed By: Kapil Dev Singh  

5 JUN 2024 · India head coach Rahul Dravid took a slight dig at the tournament organisers ahead of their T20 World Cup 2024 opener against Ireland. Speaking in a press conference, Dravid said it was odd to hold training sessions at a park in an ICC tournament. The stadium was built in a very short time. Even three months ago, there was a public park on the premises. The ICC had avidly advertised how quickly the stadium had been built. However, as it turns out, things had horribly gone wrong. Inconsistent bounce on a fresh pitch and puffs of dust coming out from the outfield meant that the whole thing had been rushed. In India's warm-up game against Bangladesh, batters found it difficult to adjust to the pace and bounce of the pitch. Ahead of India's first T20 World Cup game at the venue, Sri Lanka and South Africa played out a low-scoring thriller. The pitch was in focus again as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 77, and South Africa dragged it till the 17th over to reach the target. This match raised a very important question—is this the kind of cricket that will attract viewers from the USA, where the ICC is trying to spread the game? Given that India plays three games at the same venue, it raises a couple of very important questions. What is going to be the team's combination? Who are the undroppable players from the unit? The team is filled with superstars, but as head coach Rahul Dravid says, conditions will play a major role in the team's campaign in this World Cup. In the latest episode of the Sledging Room podcast, Saurabh Kumar, Kingshuk Kusari, and Alan Jose John unpack various issues that teams have faced in the first week of this T20 World Cup. Tune in! Produced and Mixed by Sachin Dwivedi

31 MAY 2024 · The IPL is over, and the biggest T20 carnival is here. The USA and the West Indies will co-host the men’s T20 World Cup from June 1 to June 29. The USA will host a cricket tournament of such magnitude for the first time. 3 venues are hosting the T20 World Cup in the USA, and the big India vs Pakistan clash will be played in New York. The ICC’s move to award the USA the hosting rights is a major step toward globalising the game. One of the most popular sports in the world is heading to the biggest sports market. Will the ICC’s gamble work? Yes, the Asian community in the USA will lap it up. But will the T20 World Cup make some noise in the USA? Well, at least it’s starting. More importantly, the ninth edition of the men’s T20 World Cup will have 20 teams -- as many sides for the first time in history. Is it going to affect the competitiveness of the tournament? Well, more teams will add to the flavour of the tournament and is a big step toward making the game global. Don’t count out the associates. Each one of them deserves to be here. It’s going to be an exciting World Cup, for sure. Can India progress to the semi-final and go all the way? Is Pakistan riding on chaos? Will England be able to defend their crown?  Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar and Alan John discuss the buzz around the T20 World Cup. Tune in! Produced and Mixed by Sachin Dwivedi

28 MAY 2024 · Have you seen a more dominant campaign than this? KKR looked like champions and played like champions, winning the IPL 2024 trophy in style. They won 9 out of 14 matches in the league stage and hammered the SunRisers in Qualifier 1 to progress to the final. Let's not talk about the title match! It was one of the most one-sided tournament finals, definitely the most one-sided IPL final. Shreyas Iyer became only the fifth Indian captain after MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya to win the IPL trophy. For Gambhir, it was a sensational return to Kolkata as the team's mentor. And for Pat Cummins, it was the first major tournament defeat as captain. Many Indian fans joked about SRH choking on Sunday, wondering why another team led by Cummins did not choke on November 19, 2023. KKR's dominant run brings us to this question: Who should take credit for their triumph? Should it be Gautam Gambhir? Yes, he deserves a lot of credit for the glorious run. Having taken over as the mentor, Gambhir brought role clarity and kept the team focused on the ultimate prize. Then there is coach Chandrakant Pandit, who has added the IPL crown to his decorated trophy cabinet. How much credit should Shreyas Iyer, the captain, deserve? A lot. The India batter had a difficult period before the IPL, losing his central contract and battling an injury. However, he never let that affect his leadership on the field. He stepped up with the bat in crunch situations and looked calm and composed. Should Shreyas be a future candidate for India captaincy? In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar, and Kingshuk Kusari reflect on KKR's run. We have also picked our IPL 2024 Team of the Tournament. Tune in! Produced and Mixed by Sachin Dwivedi

25 MAY 2024 · Pat Cummins has guided SRH to the final of the Indian Premier League 2024. The Hyderabad-based side are going to face KKR in the summit clash of the tournament. Two mentality monsters in the world of cricket - Pat Cummins and Gautam Gambhir are set to go head to head at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, 26 April Cummins has made waves around the world since taking over as captain. Cummins has won the Ashes at home, and drawn it away. He has won the WTC Final against India in 2023 and has beaten India in India in the ODI World Cup 2023. In the only format that he had not been captaining - T20 - Cummins' purple patch has taken SRH to the final of the IPL - one of the biggest, if not the biggest franchise league in the world 2 ICC trophies in a single year, and is now in touching distance of the IPL glory. Where does this put Pat Cummins as a captain? Can he be compared to a certain - all-conquering MS Dhoni? On the other hand, do we not talk enough about KKR captain Shreyas Iyer who came back from an injury and guided his team to the final, and made it look very comfortable while doing it? In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Akshay Ramesh, Kingshuk Kusari and Sabyasachi Chowdhury discuss the mellow build-up of IPL 2024 Final and the legacy of Pat Cummins as a captain. Tune In! Produced and Mixed by Sachin Dwivedi