Test Match Special - The 2025 Men’s Asia Cup: Can India go again?

Episode Date: September 8, 2025

TMS commentators Aatif Nawaz & Nikesh Rughani are alongside Rousham Alam from The Bangla Cricket Podcast to tell you all you need to know ahead of the Asia Cup. They discuss India’s chances of r...etaining the title, as well as what hopes Afghanistan will have in the tournament, and who the surprise package could be. Plus, which players will be key to taking their teams through the competition?

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Starting point is 00:00:30 from BBC Radio 5 Live. Hello, I'm Ardif Noirs and welcome to the TMS podcast. The 2025 Asia Cup is right around the corner, so can India win the trophy for a ninth time? Or will Sri Lanka win the trophy for a seventh time? Or will Pakistan win the trophy for a third time? Or will Bangladesh win the trophy for a first time? Who knows? We'll find out which players are going to be crucial for which team
Starting point is 00:00:55 and how does it all work throughout this tournament, myself and fellow TMS commentator, Nick Hshrugani, We'll be bringing you all the stories inside and analysis for the 2025 Asia Cup. And for this episode, we're joined by the host of the Bangla cricket podcast, Roshan Alam. A very good afternoon to you both. Before we get into it properly, Nikesh, tell us how this tournament works. So basically, best teams in Asia, Atif, as you'd expect, taking on each other. But it's not as simple as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Starting point is 00:01:26 There are other countries taking part to the likes of. of Amman and Hong Kong will be playing their part in this tournament too. And look, it's no surprise that India will be playing Pakistan in the group stages. There is a big long group stage to start with. They could also then play each other in the next round and potentially also meet in the final. So it's a typical ICC style of tournament, although it is run by the Asian Cricket Council. And it basically means we can watch a lot of India-Pakistan, really. But don't forget the other nations, as you mentioned there, Sri Lanka, going for a seventh title, very successful in this competition.
Starting point is 00:02:05 And they won the last time it was a T20 competition, which was a couple of additions ago, India winning the Asia Cup the last time it was held. But that was in the ODI format. We're back to T20s now. So watch out for the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and potentially Afghanistan too. There's two groups of four, and then it goes to the Super Four stage, and then you have your grand final. is a big long tournament, eight teams for the very first time. Roche and Alam, what do you think of Bangladesh's chances this time around? This is new for me because it's the first time in a very long time
Starting point is 00:02:39 that Bangladesh seemingly go into a tournament without the weight of heavy expectation. And I think that's because it's the first tournament we've had in about five or 10 years where that golden generation, those sort of big five players that we've spoken about for the last sort of decade of your time imes, your Shakibs, aren't in the team. and it is genuinely a brand new look, Bangladesh team. And so I think this team have probably less expectation. How will they get on? I think they'll aim for a second round berth.
Starting point is 00:03:06 And once they get there, anything's possible. But I genuinely think they're playing without that heavy expectation that they've had in the years gone by. I mean, India are sort of heavy favourites, I would say, by sort of a few furlongs, if we're honest. Most successful team in the competition's history. But the way sort of their recent form is, been the way they sort of match up
Starting point is 00:03:27 as a team, their players. I don't think anybody really comes close at the moment. Is that fair to say? Yeah, I think that's pretty fair to say. T20 World Champions of course, and we're back to the T20 format in this competition. They've got so many players to choose from. I think when they announced their squad,
Starting point is 00:03:43 the main stories were who was left out rather than who's in the side. That's just how much debate there is around the likes of Shreus Ayer and other big players missing out on a place in the squad. But They look very exciting. They're led by Suryukumar Yadav. So, you know, different leadership in the T20 format. And they're exciting. They play an exciting brand of cricket. They're almost like the basballers, I guess, of T20 with the likes of Abysheq Sharma. And those guys at the top of the order, you know, the likes of Rinku Singh has been talked about a lot. Shreya has been talked about a lot. Yashashvih Jaisfar. But those are the players who are not going to feature in the 11. But the players who are there, it's worth just mentioning how. good some of them are and absolute world class. They've lit up the IPL, which is a competition
Starting point is 00:04:30 we've covered here on TMS and across five live sports extra. So we know what these guys can do and it's down to everybody else to try and stop them. It certainly is. And we say most a successful team, eight times they've won this trophy. This tournament actually goes back in 1984. So it's one of the oldest won international competitions in the history of cricket. So something with a lot of heritage. What I found quite surprising, Nikesh, when just looking into the stats before we recorded this podcast, is that, OK, India have won it eight times,
Starting point is 00:05:04 most successful team, perhaps not a massive surprise. Sri Lanka won it six times. Pakistan have only won it twice. I mean, I understand that recently their fortunes have sort of dipped, but between the 80s and the 2000s and things like that, you'd expect them to win it more. What do you put their sort of their failure in this tournament down to? Well, yeah, I mean, especially when you can see,
Starting point is 00:05:25 that it was an ODI tournament right up until recently and then T20 started to take over a little bit more. They were a fantastic ODI side right through the 80s and the 90s, you know, the likes of Imran Khan and then the Wazims and the Wazims and all these guys and then Inzimam coming into the side and all those quality batters they had in the 90s to go along with those bowlers. It's a difficult one to put your finger on. I guess it just comes down to a little bit of bad luck because you look at other ODI tournaments in the 90s and they were so successful in Sharjah in those triangular tournaments where India also featured quite a lot,
Starting point is 00:06:02 along with the likes of Sri Lanka and then Australia, England. So they had a pedigree of winning tournaments with big teams in there. I guess it's just a luck thing. And in more recent years, India have, of course, you know, gone a little bit ahead of the other Asian sides in terms of both ODIs and T20s. Pakistan have been left a little bit behind. then you've got the emergence of sides like Bangladesh in the last 10 years, although, you know,
Starting point is 00:06:28 as Rocheon mentioned, a slightly newer looking side at the moment, but they were a force to be reckoned with previously. And Sri Lanka have always been consistent, haven't they? Right through the late 90s and into the early 2000s, a very, very strong side. So there has been lots of competition among there, and now you had Afghanistan into the mix. It's probably going to be an even more difficult task for the likes of Pakistan to win another title. Yeah, it's certainly, would be particularly with the first time, eight teams, as you're saying, like I should this competition. Now, when we look at some of those newer teams, Rocheon, I say newer teams.
Starting point is 00:07:03 Hong Kong are playing the Asia Cup for their fifth time. They featured in five editions of the Asia Cup. What do you make of the chances of the likes of Hong Kong, Oman, you know, like, do you think they're there to sort of make up the numbers? Can they cause a serious shock? I suppose we did just see the United Arab Emirates in a tri-series against Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they sort of pushed Afghanistan close in one of the matches. They only lost it by four runs.
Starting point is 00:07:31 So is there a chance that they could spring a surprise against one of the bigger countries? 100%. I think we always talk about how T20 cricket is a leveller. And I think the UAE in particular as host nation, I think they've done their homework. I think this try series that they've just recently completed, despite finishing bottom of that table. They've been doing their homework on the other teams in the Asia Cup. and I think that's going to stead them well. They beat Bangladesh recently.
Starting point is 00:07:54 They play as a unit. You know, their captain in particular, Mohammed Wasim is a phenomenal kind of like batter at the top of the order. And he really kind of inspires that team. And I think anything can happen. We say that a lot in Team 20 cricket, but I think their preparation has been probably better than some of the other teams coming into this tournament
Starting point is 00:08:11 with this tri-series against Afghanistan and Pakistan in the home condition. So I think, yeah, I think there's an absolute chance that one of these is so-called newer, fresher, less experienced teams, are going to spring a surprise. Like Rocheon says, you know, every chance. And when you consider the background of a lot of these players, a lot from South Asian backgrounds, you know, sort of not Middle Eastern backgrounds as such,
Starting point is 00:08:33 Indian expats, Pakistani, expats, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, all playing over there. So there's a high calibre of player there. And, you know, T20 is the best format for upsets. And, yeah, hopefully we do see one or two. Yeah, the UAE team itself is quite a great example of multiculturalism. It's probably the only places you'll find Indians and Pakistanis in the same cricket team these days.
Starting point is 00:08:55 But I tell you what, watching some of their games, the UAE, there will be the sort of the de facto host, even though the official host is India. And we'll talk about that in a second. But just watching some of the UAE's performances in that Tri-Series, Asif Khan, I mean, absolutely spectacular, big hitting player, particularly on those UAE pitches where you get forward against the spinners and he just can send the ball sailing.
Starting point is 00:09:19 putting a very impressive performance against Pakistan in the first match. So let's talk about the host situation a little bit. So India is officially the host, but because of sort of ongoing political strains with Pakistan, they've opted to host the entire thing at a neutral venue. Is this something we're going to have to get more and more used to, Nikesh? I think so.
Starting point is 00:09:40 I mean, even when you look at the Women's World Cup coming up in India, India versus Pakistan is going to be held in Sri Lanka because, you know, India have refused previously to travel to Pakistan, the men's team for the Champions Trophy, and that really set the precedent. Enough was enough as far as both boards were concerned, and Pakistan hit back and said, well, right, we're not going to travel to India. If India are hosting any multi-nation tournaments in the future,
Starting point is 00:10:04 be it ICC or Asia Cup competitions. So, yes, we are going to have to get used to it. Yes, it's frustrating. You know, gone are the days where you would see fans of India and Pakistan travelling across the border to watch their side in these competitions and it really brought its own unique atmosphere really and you know you saw how strong the friendship was between the two nations and how welcoming the nations were to one another back in those early 2000s the tournament structured in a way that you know they can they could play each other up to three
Starting point is 00:10:37 times they're playing each other once in the group stage that's confirmed that's on the 14th of september by the way if you want to mark your calendars um and then um they could play each other again the Super Fours and then potentially again in the final, although they have never met in the final before. That's astounding, isn't it? In 16 editions of the Asia Cup, they've never met before in the final. So this is, I mean, never miss a chance to, I mean, sometimes it's sort of so transparently commercial cricket. Rocheon, how do you feel about this? Well, my favourite thing about the Asia Cup is that I don't think I've ever witnessed the group stage draw. It just pops up on a press release somewhere or on an Instagram post. And, you know, it's cricket's
Starting point is 00:11:17 greatest coincidence that India and Pakistan have always ended up in the same group. You know, it's phenomenal. And then, you know, in the same group and then with two of the lesser experienced sides. And then you often get Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the other group, the group of death, as I call it. So, I mean, look, it's, it's a money spinner, isn't it? It makes the Asia Cup exciting. I think the potential for three games is always exciting as the neutral. Would I like to watch a group stage draw for the Asia Cup one day? Yes. Would India and Pakistan end up in the same group that time? Who knows? Yeah, Rocheon, we don't see the draws for the World Cups either and the ICC have admitted in the past that, look, it
Starting point is 00:11:58 makes sense to draw India versus Pakistan at some stage in the group and also England versus Australia, although in men's ODI World Cups now, of course it's one big group. So there's no need for any scrutiny over that. But look, it makes a lot of commercial sense. Fascinating how it's all sort of playing out. But, yeah, I mean, it will be interesting. Do you think sometimes there's a little bit of resentment from other countries that so much of the focus
Starting point is 00:12:25 is on India and Pakistan and the hype between it, particularly as it hasn't been a particularly competitive rivalry over the last few encounters India have kind of dominated? I don't think there's any resentment about the game itself. I think the rivalry is fantastic. It's exciting. people get talking about cricket. I think sometimes, and this is me thinking back to perhaps the Champions Trophy where India didn't necessarily have to travel as much as the other
Starting point is 00:12:47 nations. I think there was more resentment around that and schedules and air miles covered than there was the actual game itself. I think we all sort of know that the Asia Cup is basically in India, Pakistan, you know, a three match series disguised as a bigger tournament and we're here for it because it's always satisfying to then have Bangladesh or Sri Lanka qualify for the final and sort of disrupt that. I think that's almost a kind of motivation for the other teams going, hang on a second,
Starting point is 00:13:12 the script isn't written. There's a final up for grabs here, and we're going to try and put a fit in it. Well, they've been put into a bit of a group of death because Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are in the same group. That's a tough break. How has that been received by fans in Bangladesh?
Starting point is 00:13:28 Is there any feeling of like, this is just not fair? Or do people just sort of get on with it because they realise the commercial realities of what a Pakistan-India game brings to everybody? I think they get on with it. I think it is the group of death. And I think it is one though that I think every team in that group feels that they could come through. You know, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka played recently. Bangladesh won that series. But Sri Lanka can, you know, obviously have the ability to beat Bangladesh on their date. And I think Afghanistan's placing that tournament now. They've gone from being the kind of underdogs and the ones to watch to actually, I would say favourites in that group. And so the group of death has just got scarier and more dangerous, I think. But I think that makes for exciting cricket because whilst you have that India-Pakistan rivalry in group, A, hopefully we'll have some really competitive cricket and a tight face to see who qualifies for the second round in Group B.
Starting point is 00:14:13 And I think that is good for the tournament to keep it exciting in all sort of parts of the game. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Right, guys, let's talk about players, right? Which players should we be looking to? If a neutral was watching this tournament, which players would you point them in the direction of? I've got a list in front of me. It's mostly Indian players, I'm not going to lie.
Starting point is 00:14:36 But, you know, there's loads of exciting players in all the teams. Nikesh, who are going to be the box office attractions of this Asia Cup? Let's start with Afghanistan then, because I think Afghanistan have got a real chance of qualifying for the final in this one. As Rocheon says, favourites for their group, certainly the way they've been playing in recent times, the way they've been consistent in ICC tournaments against the top nations, too, both in T20s and ODIs. You've got the usual suspects, the likes of Rashid Khan and Nur Ahmed. I think they'll come into their own because of the pitches in the UAE. But look out for Ramanola Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran at the top of the order.
Starting point is 00:15:13 I think they could cause some absolute carnage if they get in, particularly against the spinners. They'll, of course, take advantage of the power play. They'll come out hard. And then they've got the ability in those middle overs to hit the big shots against the spinners. As far as India are concerned, I think Abyshek Sharma is going to have a great tournament at the top of the order. such an exciting player, such a box office player, and Surukumar Yadav against the spinners, there's probably nobody better in world cricket right now.
Starting point is 00:15:42 In terms of Pakistan, look, my favourite player from Pakistan at the moment, Nassim Shah, just, I think even on dead pitches in the UAE, when you see extreme pace, the ability to bowl those yorkers at high pace, the action that he has as well, I think, adds to his charm when he's running into bowl. I think I'm looking forward to seeing what he can deliver. From Bangladesh, I'm sure Rocheon will agree with me here. Rashad Hussein, we've seen him in recent tournaments, haven't we?
Starting point is 00:16:12 And he certainly looks like, he's very tall, of course. He's a spinner. But he's got something a little bit different, a wrist spinner with that extra bounce and with that slight different angle to the conventional wrist spinner. We see tall off spinners, don't we, from time to time? rarely we see a tall wrist spinner so I don't know what Rocheon's thoughts are and Rishad is saying
Starting point is 00:16:34 and whether or not he thinks he's going to be successful in this tournament well he had a fantastic breakout tournament in 2024 I think he finished on 14 wickets which is up there amongst the top wicket takers but I think for me the most surprising thing about Rishad Hussain is that a leg spinner has broken into the squad
Starting point is 00:16:50 and successfully stayed in there and he is phenomenal like you say his wrist spins phenomenal he can find wickets where there aren't wickets he can also hit the ball. So it's a really useful utility player to have down the order for Bangladesh. And it's no surprise that in the last two years, his PR and his value as a franchise player has really soared. I know they were looking to sign him in the BBL.
Starting point is 00:17:12 And I think he's just all set there to have a brilliant tournament. Yeah, couldn't agree more. He's been absolutely superb of late as well. Also, some of the other teams, you know, so Hong Kong, they've got a new captain as well, Yassim Murtuzah and a new coach as well, Koshal Silva of Sri Lanka. So, you know, getting their personnel in gear, it's their fifth time participating.
Starting point is 00:17:35 I mean, they've been a part of some. They're almost a staple of the Asia Cup. I don't know why that surprised me. Hong Kong have sort of been a staple of this tournament as well. I quite like, you know, just watching Afghanistan recently in that Tri-Series. You know, again, their spinners, like you mentioned, Nikesh, they always come to the fore. The conditions are likely to favor them as well,
Starting point is 00:17:55 quite heavily, particularly in Sharjah, where the ball was turning sideways, from a Pakistani perspective, I'd certainly keep a lookout for Mohamed Nawaz, no relation, I should point out, but he just took his first fifer in the final of that try series and also took a hat trick recently. So, Pakistan adopting that approach, very similar to England recently, where they sort of play four specialists and a couple of them sort of spinning all rounders as their fifth bowler. It's very much in vogue at the moment, that style. quite sure why. But yeah, in terms of who's going to end up player of the tournament, I'm finding it very hard to look past Abyshek Sharma. You mentioned how destructive he is,
Starting point is 00:18:36 how much expectation there is. I mean, he's already scored two international T20 centuries, and he's only played 17 matches for India. This guy is astounding, even by sort of Indian standards, and we talk about India being this sort of conveyor belt for world-class T20 players. Like this guy, even by those standards, Nikesh, blows everybody out the water at the moment. He certainly does. As an opener, he's right up there with the very best in T20 cricket, you know, and perhaps could become an all-timer if he carries on like this, just, as you say, so destructive in the power play, the ability to carry on and hit the spinners as well, which is crucial. You can't just be good off the quicks.
Starting point is 00:19:14 You're going to be playing in conditions like in the UAE. You're going to have to be destructive against the spinners to be successful too. and that's exactly what he is. I mean, just to give you an example of how good this guy is for people who haven't seen as much of him, he plays for the Sunrises Hyderabad in the IPL, he bats alongside Travis Head at the top of the order, and he is the aggressor,
Starting point is 00:19:36 and Travis Head usually plays around him. That's not to say Travis Head defends. He hits at a strike rate of around 140, 150 in those power playovers, but Abyshech Sharma usually goes in the region of around 200, and he doesn't usually just get 15 or 20. He gets those big scores too. He's right up there usually in the last couple of seasons at the top of the run scorers in the tournament too.
Starting point is 00:19:58 So an absolute gun at the top. Yeah, just wildly entertaining player. I mean, you've got to be right. You've got to be, as you say, you're overshadowing Travis Head and the kind of people he's keeping out of that Indian side as well. I mean, talking about a country with no shortage of talent. So he's definitely a big player in this competition.
Starting point is 00:20:18 And we've got to talk about who we think is going to win this whole thing. Now, India is the easy answer, but let's try and be a bit out there. Let's have one rogue prediction for this season's Asia Cup. One thing that you think is going to happen that might shock people. Let's start with you, Rosh and Alam, because I have a feeling I know what yours is going to be. Well, I actually, I'd love to see Afghanistan get to the final. I'd love to see them win it. I think that team as a unit have played together for a very long time.
Starting point is 00:20:45 I think they are secretly everyone's second favourite Asian team, generally speaking. And I just think, like, you know, the stage is set for them to have a really successful tournament. They've gelled. They know what they're doing. They're fantastic at the top. They've got a brilliant bowling attack. The conditions, you know, this is a sort of venues that they play a lot of games at. So everything is all set for Afghanistan to have a phenomenal tournament. I would love, love to see them in the final.
Starting point is 00:21:08 Yeah, they did lose their most recent finals, Pakistan in that try series. But they did put in some very impressive performances all the way through. really their only bad day at the office there. Come on, Nikesh, what have you got? You've got something good. I know you got something good. What are you got? What's your crazy prediction? Well, Hong Kong to give Bangladesh a good game on Thursday. I know Rocheon won't like me saying that. I just think in T20 cricket, there's going to be one upset in the tournament, isn't there. And that, for some reason, just sticks out to me. I mean, Hong Kong, as you say, have got
Starting point is 00:21:40 the pedigree, at least, of being a regular member of the Asia Cup. And, you know, with the changes they've made recently they've got a more settled-looking side in the last couple of seasons I think they might run Bangladesh close I'm not saying they're going to beat them but I think that'll be quite a tight game and in terms of the tournament
Starting point is 00:21:58 you can't really look past India at this stage but if India don't go on to win it then I think Afghanistan might just do my rogue prediction for this edition and I really wanted to make come up with something original so this is what I'm thinking right I think that in this tournament, one of the teams, I won't say who, but one of the teams will cross 300 runs in an innings.
Starting point is 00:22:27 So I think one of the teams, it could be anybody, it could be Oman, it could be Hong Kong, it could be anybody. But I think somebody will cross the 300 barrier. It probably will be India. But, you know, I can see that actually happening in this tournament. there is, you know, in some of the games, there's, I feel like there's quite a big gap in class between the team. So I think that will play out at some stage. And I just think I'm going to keep a very close eye in Pakistan, who's just sort of been left out of the build up a little bit of it, just because they're still in that rebuilding phase. Mike Hess and new
Starting point is 00:23:00 coach coming in, imposing his kind of standard on the, on the whole thing. But they showed a lot of character in this try series. They were expected to beat the UAE, and they did. And they did drop a game to Afghanistan, but they beat them again in the final. And of course, historically, one of the strongest teams in Asia. So despite sort of, you know, I think this sort of low height buildup might work to their advantage where expectation is off a little bit, the chance to bet into the tournament by playing against the lower ranked teams before their big clash against India on the 14th of September. I've marked that in my calendar months and months ago. Now, if you were going to give Pakistan fans some hope, Nikesh, how would you do it?
Starting point is 00:23:45 And Roshan, get ready because you're going to answer this next. Well, look, they've got a relatively easy group, haven't they, compared to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. So, you know, even if they do lose to India, they'll qualify for the Super Fours, which I guess is effectively kind of a semi-final stage with the last four teams left in the competition. And from then on in, you know, you're winning. a couple of games and you're through to the final. So it's not all doom and gloom. They won the Tri-Series, as you say. They're in, you know, a little bit of a transition phase, I would say, in their T20 cricket.
Starting point is 00:24:22 A few new players coming in, of course. I guess a change of philosophy might be the thing that Pakistan need going forward and just catch up with the rest of the world in terms of how they attack in T20 cricket with the bat particularly. but they've got the bowling fire powers certainly and it's not all about spinning the UAE as we saw in the 90s with Wakayunis and Wazi Makram on dead pitches
Starting point is 00:24:48 if you've got that extreme pace the ability to swing the ball then you're always going to be in the game both in the power play and then potentially at the death with those searing quick yorkers so don't worry Pakistan fans it's not going to be all doom and gloom
Starting point is 00:25:03 is all I'll say at this stage No Barber, no Rizwan for the first time and a long time in a major tournament as well, Rocheon. Lots of learning will be taking place for the younger players. Well, you'd hope so. Well, I think, you know, if you, like, under the new regime, this team seems to have a new mentality. And if you're telling Barbarazam that he needs to go work on a strike rate
Starting point is 00:25:26 to make the squad, I think that sets a real, like, high bar for this Pakistani team. And also, you know, whilst a lot of the other teams have been playing test cricket or like Bangladesh scrambling to organise preparation. Pakistan have done their homework. They've arrived in the host venue like a month in advance. They've played a lot of cricket there. They, for me, are one of the best prepared teams going into this tournament. They've got momentum.
Starting point is 00:25:47 They've got the wins. They've got the experience. And now they just need to execute it. So actually, I think they're in a far better position than we might realize. Dark horses for the tournament, Pakistan. That's a shout. It's bizarre, really, because they used to be one of the favorites for the tournaments. And now they've transitioned nicely into that dark.
Starting point is 00:26:04 course position. There was a lot of excitement, Nikesh, because they were training at the same time as India recently. So they were all on the similar, on the same training facility at the same time. So all the photographers, all the media, they sort of pointed their cameras, oh, we might get a moment here, but both camps sort of kept to themselves. There wasn't much overlap. I get the feeling this time you'll see possibly the least sort of overly friendly, like you might not have Veracoli putting his arm around Barbarazam because neither of them will be playing. You definitely won't get that. But, but, you know, you might not get that visual anymore of like overly friendly cricket diplomacy.
Starting point is 00:26:39 I guess so. I don't know about that. I think once they get onto the pitch, there'll be lots of hugs exchanged and, you know, the usual pleasantries, you know, with people like Viracoli, of course, and Barbarazim, two legends in their own countries. Of course, you know, it makes great content when they embrace each other and have those little interactions.
Starting point is 00:27:01 The same with Shaheen Shahfridi, when he was injured and Virak Koli sort of went up to him at training session and asked him about his injury and it just made great content, didn't it? Those types of things always go down well. We saw in the World Championship of Legends, didn't we, which took place in the UK among some legendary players of both sides. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, you know, chatting away to the Pakistani players. Of course, they didn't play each other in that tournament due to political tensions
Starting point is 00:27:28 and some of the Indian players refusing to play against Pakistan. But for the ones who weren't refusing, the likes of Yuvraj, who was captain of that side. We saw him interacting with the Bukistani players just fine. So, yeah, honestly, I don't think there'll be any issues. Once they get out onto that field, they're just two sets of guys with very similar cultures who are going to get along just fine.
Starting point is 00:27:50 Right, two questions coming up. One word answers I would like from both of you. Okay, so the teams I'm going to give you, Oman, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, which of them is going to win the most games in this competition? competition. UAE, I think they are the best prep team, they've played against high-ranked opposition, they've beaten Bangladesh, I can see them springing a surprise.
Starting point is 00:28:15 I am going to go for potentially UAE as well, only because they've got Oman in their group. And yeah, I can see them thumping Oman. Say what you mean, you think they might be Pakistan. well yeah the most amount of wins so yeah that might be their second one no that's not going to happen that's not going to happen right okay India Pakistan Bangladesh Afghanistan Sri Lanka
Starting point is 00:28:47 one of them suffers an embarrassing loss who's it going to be I hate to say it but teams often get their big headline making upset against Bangladesh don't they that tends to happen quite a lot used to be Pakistan for a while but, you know, any play who needs to come back, any play who needs to be back in form, any team who are looking for an upset,
Starting point is 00:29:05 always seems to happen against Bangladesh. So that's my worry in this. You know, we've spoken a lot about, you know, Hong Kong in this tournament. Tough opening fixture. Yeah, I've already called it, Rocheon. I've already called it Hong Kong to run Bangladesh close and they might well do it. You never know.
Starting point is 00:29:24 Well, let's see how it goes. It sounds like it's going to be really exciting. Thanks so much, Nick's and Rochon. So good to chat. you and looking forward to chatting more and more as this tournament progresses. That's it for this episode of the TMS podcast, though. Make sure you're subscribed to never miss an episode, including all the analysis around England men's white ball series against South Africa,
Starting point is 00:29:43 including that record-breaking effort in Southampton on Sunday. Plus, no balls with Alex Hartley and Kate Cross. Test match special will bring you live coverage of the first of three T-20s between England and South Africa from Sapphire Gardens at 6.15 on Wednesday evening on BBC Sounds, five sports extra and the BBC Sport app and website. And you can keep up to date with all things cricket by following at BBC TMS on X and at BBC cricket on Instagram.
Starting point is 00:30:08 Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next time. The Women's Football Weekly has found a new home. It's a very own feed. We've called it, unsurprisingly, BBC Women's Football Weekly. We'll continue to bring you the latest news, insights and analysis from across the women's game. throwing some big money around. I want to see how they line up, how everyone fits in.
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