Episodes
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
In this episode of the podcast we pay homage to the careers of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Pujara and Rahane may or may not play again for India but they both have been mainstays of the Indian team. It's only fitting we reflect on their respective tenures in the middle given how both men polarized the Indian fandom. Doing the honors are Aftab Khanna and Saahil Sharma as we look back these careers and more.
The second phase of this conversation is an extension to some of the main architects of Indian middle order. In a free flowing conversation three fans take stock of Dravid, Laxman, Azhar and Ganguly among other names. Get your choice of caffeine and get ready to tune in this exercise where some of your favorite middle order names get mentioned.
Aftab Khanna on twitter -https://twitter.com/aftabkhanna
Saahil Sharma on twitter -https://twitter.com/faahil
Saqib Ali on twitter -https://twitter.com/saqiba
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
Duncan Hamilton on his book about Harold Larwood
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
Duncan Hamilton is the podcast guest for this episode where he revisits his award winning book on English cricketer Harold Larwood. Hamilton who is a three time winner of the prestigious https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hill_Sports_Book_of_the_Year award has brought Larwood back to life through his maginicent account. Larwood remains one of the most tragic characters the game has ever seen given his relationship with MCC, English fans and the English cricket community suffered a great deal post the infamous Bodyline series.
Hamilton talks about why he chose to write about the man from Trent Bridge and how one of the most misunderstood stories in cricket history had to be retold with a fresh perspective. No conversation on Larwood would be complete without the following men - Douglas Jardine, Bill Voce, Arthur Carr and of course Don Bradman. In this episode we revisit some of the key events from the Larwood story which is stranger than most fiction works on sporting figures and helps the reader to fully understand the journey of the fast bowler.
We also talk about the paperback release of Hamilton's upcoming novel - Injury Time.
Friday Mar 11, 2022
Shane Keith Warne (1969-2022)
Friday Mar 11, 2022
Friday Mar 11, 2022
In the latest episode of the podcast Aftab Khanna and Vijay Arumugam join Saqib Ali to look back at the impact and larger than life legacy of the late Shane Warne.
Friday Feb 25, 2022
Abhishek Chopra contextualizes the history of Pakistan vs Australia rivalry
Friday Feb 25, 2022
Friday Feb 25, 2022
On the eve of Australia's upcoming tour to Pakistan Abhishek Chopra(https://twitter.com/El_Chopernos) joins the show this week to look back at the evolution of this test rivalry. Chopra is an avid reader - who shares his recollections of the early days of this contest dating back to the Aussies first visit to Pakistan in 1956. Context is king and Chopra provides a lot of it - be it the political importance of these tours to the matting wickets. This tour did set up the beginning of a new rivalry between two nations that have played their cricket with lot of similarities.
Chopra unpacks some of the central figures of these contests from Fazal Mahmood to DK Lillee. The podcast is super rich in detail as it should be since we covered cricket spanning seventeen years. The conversation comes full circle when Pakistan tours Australia for a full three test series in 1972-73 where aggression and sledging of the Aussie attack leave an everlasting taste in the visitors psyche. Dive into the pod to learn more.
Recommended reads by Chopra -
Monday Feb 07, 2022
Uday Bhatia on films, cricket and the connection that just keeps missing
Monday Feb 07, 2022
Monday Feb 07, 2022
Bollywood and Cricket are arguably two of the biggest forms of entertainment in India - yet the purist cricket fan is seldom satisfied as a movie fan when filmmakers try to tackle cricket. Uday Bhatia joins Saqib Ali in this episode to explore how sports especially cricket gets depicted in Hindi films. The conversation also takes a deeper dive into film criticism and its evolution as a discipline.
https://www.amazon.com/Bullets-Over-Bombay-Uday-Bhatia-ebook/dp/B09BCBXG4N
Friday Jan 21, 2022
Friday Jan 21, 2022
Jarrod Kimber joins me this week on the podcast as we discuss the conundrum of cricket commentary on Tv. The fan conversation has only gotten louder on the style of the commentary with notable names across the world struggling to add value to the hardcoure viewer. Kimber helps unpack this through layers of what the production houses can or cannot do improve this product. We use examples of Gavaskar, McEnroe and Shaq across from various sports to discuss this point at length. What type of commentary is needed to please all fan bases.
The other focal point of this chat was to view the fast bowing culture build by Virat Kohli's captainship. Can this be measured at all? Is Kohli the modern day Imran khan? Kimber is very articulate in how we can separate the narratives from the reality which is usually full of cricket reasons.
The episode concludes with the topic of batting struggles of this generation in test matches. Why only a few batters average above 40 now? Is it the pitches or the reasons lie elsewhere. Tune in to listen to the brilliant analysis by Jarrod Kimber.
You can find his work at - https://linktr.ee/jarrodkimber
Friday Dec 31, 2021
The Vijay Arumugam Files
Friday Dec 31, 2021
Friday Dec 31, 2021
Vijay Arumugam(@vijayarumugam) is back on the pod to wrap up the year. This time he flies as a solo guest and shares his experience of living in Australia as an "Indian expat". Vijay is candid as always in his explanation of where cricket and culture coincides in the Australian society. He also recalls upon his journey of being a SCG patron since 2009 when South Africa played the New years test match. The conversation then focuses on the public perception on how cheating and sledging were clubbed together as part of a bigger problem in Australian cricket on the heels of the Sandpaper gate.
Vijay also helps understand the Aussie mindset of acceptance and how that works in Cricket fandom of Indians and other nationalities who call Australia home. Another topic which is covered is the importance of Ashes in the Australian landscape and how does it measure with other rivalries in cricket and other sports in a larger space.
Vijay also serves tips on how to pick an Australian test venue if you are planning a trip to go watch cricket. Last but not the least we talk about the Indian stardom of Tendulkar and Kohli through the lens of Aussie spectators and media - how are the two men received given their different personalities? Tune in to learn more about Vijay and his growth as an international fan of the game.
Friday Dec 24, 2021
Mohammad Isam talks about the Bangladesh Cricket Landscape
Friday Dec 24, 2021
Friday Dec 24, 2021
Mohammad Isam of ESPN cricinfo fame is the podcast guest for this episode. Isam is the digital voice of Bangladesh cricket as he has been covering the national team for almost a decade now. The episode takes a deeper dive to understand the political landscape of Bangladesh cricket - the academies, the domestic rivalries and political importance of cricket. Isam has helped unpack lots of background analysis on the power structure of his nation's cricket as its run by politicians and bureaucrats.
Isam acknowledges that conflict of interest is a great obstacle in the way BCB operates and he values the rise of powerful players as they voice their concern on the domestic and national cricket. It is a deeply informative episode where Isam has left no stone unturned to help us(the international audiences) to understand the cricket culture and its challenges in Bangladesh.
https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1246243/how-bangladesh-became-a-country-of-left-arm-spin
https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/805345/a-mountain-of-hope--a-pile-of-ash
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