Test Match Special - TMS IPL Podcast Ep 2: Wood wickets, Dhoni drama and Curran holds his nerve.

Episode Date: April 5, 2023

Simon Mann is joined by former IPL player Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and TMS commentator Aatif Nawaz to discuss the latest from the tournament. Plus we hear memories of what the late Shane Warne brought to the IPL and Charlotte Edwards reflects on her victory as Mumbai Indians coach in the WPL.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The Dakar Rally is the ultimate off-road challenge. Perfect for the ultimate defender. The high-performance Defender Octa, 626 horsepower twin turbo V8 engine and intelligent 6D dynamics air suspension. Learn more at landrover.ca. 51035 degrees east 37.8501 degrees south 3.280 miles in length 14 turns f1 we'll get into the who's and the what-nots later on in the checker flag podcast get analysis and reaction with the checkered flag podcast listen on BBC sounds

and man with the latest episode in our IPL podcast. In it we'll be discussing the standout performances so far, including a five wicket hall for Mark Wood and a match winning 82 by Virac Koli and we'll be hearing what it's like to actually be a player in the tournament. And a little later, we'll hear reflections from the coach who masterminded her team to victory in the women's Premier League, Charlotte Edwards. Remember, as well as our regular podcast, you can hear commentary from the Indian Premier League on five Sports Extra and BBC Sounds

The IPL on 5 Live Sports Extra Curran sets off with purpose goes in now bowls to Butler It's short butler pulls Miss Cues it

Is he going to be caught He's dropped To rid him and Sahar And he's bowled him First ball What an impact That's an impact player for you

Anric Norquia Incomes Wood again Another short delivery This time It's hooked away And that's gone miles up into the air and miles over the rope as well. It's got into the top tier of the stand at Chippuk.

M. Estoni strides in in the final over. Five deliveries remaining. First ball over third man for six. Second ball, a huge six. So with me to have a look at how the IPL has started, Habeshek Judgen-Wallow, who's played for four teams in the The IPL, former IPL player, Artif Noirz, commentator, is alongside me as well. I am Simon Mann and for the next 20 minutes or so we're going to dissect what we've seen so far.

So Abyshech, 2023 edition of the IPL, not been going too long, long way to go. What have you made of it so far? What's caught your eye? No, I think it's been a very exciting tournament. The biggest thing which has happened in this tournament is that the home and away fixture is back after four years, which has been a massive, massive advantage. just because of the home support and the crowd is again able to come and support their players

they've been waiting for this opportunity to go out there and support their heroes and again IPL taking it to different parts of India as well we know that there's a game played in Gohati so they're taking it to different parts giving opportunity to people from all around India to go and experience this one of the best tournaments in the world

absolutely and as you say I'll be shake it's the scale that you kind of forget about every year you kind of think yeah the IPL it's the big beast and everything. But when you see it again, when you hear it again, you forget about just how big, just how many people

and just the level of engagement. And as you say, I'll be shake, one of the most exciting things this year is the many venues that we've got to see. The first eight games at eight different venues.

You know, we've seen Ahmedabad, Mohali, Lakhno, Heatherabad, Hedrabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, I mean, it's wonderful to just, you know, it really feels like the Indian Premier League.

You get to see a lot of India. And so it's a nice part of the appeal. You forgot the biggest venue, Kolkata. Of course. I beg your pardon. I beg your pardon. I've got the Prince of Bengal next to me. Can't mess about. But it has been really exciting, Simon. So that's the venues and the crowd. And the fact that it's going back to all around India again. I think the competition has missed that in the last two or three years. It was Mumbai focus last year in Punei.

And then we've had some time in the Middle East as well. So it's great for the crowds to see their heroes and see their teams again. What about, what the thing that was, you know, a factor at the start. How is this going to work? An impact player and teams naming their sides after the toss. The thing is, in other sports, we're used to impact players. We just call them substitutes, don't we? Sometimes they come off, and sometimes they don't sometimes say in a football match, they score the winner, and sometimes for half an hour they have an absolute stinker.

So what have you made of that so far? I think it's all about how they're using the impact player. And also, in the previous year, Simon, we've been doing IPL for the last three or four years. and we've seen so many matches, the moment you win the toss, you win the game because of the due factor, which has played a massive part in the IPL over the years, I think to some extent that gives an advantage

to the team bowling second if you have an impact player and you can bring in an extra bowler. So I think it works really well. And also how the teams are using it, Ambati Raidu, I would love to be Ambati Raidu. I just have to come back for like five overs and not feel at all. Even better if he didn't have to run his runs as well. It's a dream situation for anyone if you're Ambati Raidu.

I do. But again, the way Siteshudarshan have been used. And when he's been used as an impact player, he's coming and actually made a massive impact for the team. So I think it's a great, great addition to the game. There are few other additions. Again, we're not going to go into the time. Oh, we are. We are. We are. We are. You're not going to get into that because, obviously, even with all the restrictions now, where you're not allowed to have one extra player outside the 30-yard circle is still going on for four hours. So what are we talking on about? It's the commercial time I mean this is the thing

I mean I know it's frustrating for broadcasters and a lot of broadcasters let their frustrations know including myself but you know the truth is it's not specific to the IPL anymore like I mean we've seen this happen in the UAE T20 we've seen it happen in Pakistan we've seen it happen

even in the Caribbean Premier League like these matches are expanding more and more not just because they're trying to squeeze a lot of commercial opportunities in the necessity which they absolutely are but you're also getting that depth of tactics every single delivery means something every every passage of play is getting a lot of you know thought and detail behind it

almost like plays in in an american american football match or an NFL game or an NBA game there's there's a lot of you know there's a lot more thought being squeezed into it t20 is completely changed from 2003 when it was kind of a hitabout there's a lot more going on and uh and the time is reflecting that yeah IPR matches or innings are supposed to last for an hour and 30 minutes and we're seeing games that actually going I mean we've seen a two hour innings. In the opening match it was a two hour innings. I mean, Josh Butler actually tweeted about it the other day, didn't he? I think it was

he actually tweeted during a time out. He was probably watching on his TV in his hotel room and said, you know, come on, we need to speed up the pace of play. Is that just a sort of Anglo-centric view of it, do you think? I mean, we have talked about this a bit before, but you know, it's supposed to be an hour of 30 and it's going in, there was one innings the other day

that went actually into the third hour. My only question is, first of all, you need to put in two and a half minutes of two of those timeouts. a strategic timeout. Obviously, that takes five minutes. I don't think that's included. I'm not sure if that's included.

That is included in the world, 30. So you're really, really pushing it. And also, as Artif very rightly said, that the amount of strategy, the amount of tactics which is going on in every delivery, every delivery is an event, we know. And more so, after the 15th over, we see the captain, like, three or four people

there chatting with the bowler because the moment he gets hit for a six, the next delivery takes a minute, minute and a half in itself because there's so much strategy, so much chat going on behind that one, particular delivery. I think that's where they need to really reduce it. That's where they need to, the

umpires need to step in and say, you can't have these times anymore. You need to be clear in your head what you're going to do as a bowler. You can't have captain and everyone else coming around you and you're discussing every delivery. I think one of the factors as well, I'll be sure you's the fact that the aggregates for the matches have been very high this time around.

Previously we've seen sort of 160, you do get the odd big score plus 200 but maybe not as many as we've already seen in this edition of the IPL. It's been very, very high scoring. as you say it does take time to retrieve the bull when you get hit for a four or six your captain's going to want to have a word

possibly that's had an impact I do expect things to speed up a little bit as time goes on I suppose one of the points is that with the time restriction you know you are supposed to have an extra player inside the circle and you know for wherever you've transgressed

and that punishment has not been brought to bear so it's almost as if they well bring lip service to the regulations really aren't they well I know this is there but we'll just find all these allowances and it's fine So actually, what would concentrate the mind is if, you know, there was a game when they said, right, you've got to have a player inside the extra player inside the circle for the last, say, three overs or whatever. Yeah, I think it's still the 18th over. So they've got a cut off time till the 18th over. So if you don't bowl your 18th over in particular time, then for the last two overs, you cannot have five fielders outside the 30-hour circle. And yeah, we haven't seen that yet. We haven't seen anybody getting penalized for that. And sometimes you wonder, the game has already gone for one hour of 50, and they're still bowling the 18th over. How is it that they're still allowing five feet?

field is outside the 30-year circle. Yeah. What does this mean for, you know, people watching on television, your kids who've got to go to school the next day, people have got to get home from the grounds. Does anyone bother about that? Yeah, on that point, the game goes on till 12 midnight in India. And if you're an 11-year- or a 12-year-old kid and if your parents are allowing you to stay awake and watch the game, which they all want to because it's very exciting.

Every game is very exciting in the IPL. I think, yeah, there has to be a thought process behind that because you are catering to the young crowd. You are asking them to come and play the game. you are encouraging them to play the sport but at the same time it's just not working out with their routine it's fascinating you say that I'll be sure

because I was chatting to a friend of mine who's a teacher in Mumbai and he was telling me about how he organizes his lesson plan so the IPLs already sort of impacted the schooling like they already organized oh no they're going to be good for nothing in that first hour just chuck a video on or something

I mean I'm paraphrasing him slightly but it does have that impact I think they do need to think about this a little bit as we know, India comes to a standstill when the IPL's on. You don't see any major film releases, major television releases. It's all about cricket, cricket, cricket. So there's a little bit of social responsibility that. I just feel that when we were playing IPL,

the game used to start at 8 o'clock. So imagine that. And we used to go till 1230, sometimes even close to 1 o'clock. Yeah, I remember working on the first IPA. And honestly, a game finished at 20 to 1 in the morning. Yeah, absolutely. So that's what I mean. And imagine as a player, it's very taxing.

and all they need to do is try and bring it at 7 o'clock. I think people are still back from work at home. And if you start at 7 o'clock, that finishes at 11.30, still a decent time. Or maybe go harsher on the penalties. I know we've talked about another. I think they're being very innovative, the IPL. They've come with the impact player. This is wonderful.

I'd like to see them come up with another innovation to counter this, because it's becoming a problem, as you say. I think a lot of broadcasters won't mind more premium content, but possibly removing a player, you know, playing with 10 for a little while. Something to think about. Let's move on. Gujarat Titans won the competition last year. And they look good already.

They've made a strong start. I heard Sunny Gaviske at some time summariser on a test match special and also former Indian great. He said they haven't got any star players, but they've got lots of little stars. And it seems to me they've got the blend right. I mean, for me,

Shib Mangil is probably one of the biggest stars in World Cricket. Cricket, Rashid Khan is another one. I don't know that. I mean, you've got plenty, Mohamash, Shami. You've got Hardik Pandya, probably one of the best all-rounders in world cricket. Odian Smith, one of the hardest sitting batter. I mean, he must have had a thought process behind it when he said it. But if you look at it, if Kane Williamson, unfortunately, he's injured,

if he was fed, another one of the world beaters, one of the best cricketers in the world. So I think they've got plenty of big names in their squad. Yeah, absolutely. I agree with that. I think, you know, they've got this really nice balance as well. Because I know what I sort of understand what he's saying, is the big sort of marquee names. But you've got enough sort of...

Who would you put in the big marquee names? Like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli. Exactly. People are going to sell... Just bit bumra. People are going to sell a lot of t-shirts, basically. Or Ben Stokes. If you have to go by the marquey names and the big names,

yeah, somebody like Ben Stokes or Joffra Archer. But I would argue in world cricket right now, there may be no more inspirational a captain than Hard Vic Bandia. I mean, he's coming... Last year, he was given that big responsibility, won the IPL. And he feels 10 feet tall when he sees him on the pitch. At the moment, really marshalling his troops, his gravitas has grown so much over the past 48 months that he's gone into, you know, I think he's gone into sort of supernova in terms of what is, where he represents on a cricket pitch, that is invaluable. And if I was a team like the Gujarat Titans, I'd take that over, you know, these big, and as you say, I'll be shake.

I mean, Rashid Khan is a marquee name. I mean, this is, this man's won multiple T20 tournaments. Everyone wants him, don't they? Everybody wants him, yeah. But yeah, I would say right now, Hardik Pandey is one of the most valuable players in the league and Shubman Gill. I mean, he was so terrific in that game against Chennai, you know, brilliant 50 for him in that match as well, going at almost 200 strike rate. So I just get the feeling that, you know, they're looking very good to retain. I mean, it's very early, obviously, but they look like they've got a very nice mix, a good combination.

Yeah, I agree with that. They look strong early. But, you know, we know how things can turn around, but, you know, you make a strong start. Of course, it can help you out and you can lose a couple of games. but you've still got that base at the start which can help you through some of the individual performances we've seen so far

I thought Guy Quad was excellent early on that opening game we've seen Myers smash it around Moen Ali taking four weeks and Mark Wood what's a strange tournament he's had so far he's five of 14 and he's taking wickets

and he gets smacked around by MS Stoney I think that was the biggest event in these IPL so far Amazon he walks in in Cheapok with five deliveries left hit the first delivery for six against the premium fast world, one of the best in the world, best in the business. That was just an event in itself.

And third ball, he gets out. And the cheer, Simon, we were commentating. It was me, Nika, and Henry. And we were commentating. And when he was walking in, even on our headphones, we could hear the cheer, which I've never heard in my life before. Like the whole stadium erupted when he walked in. And they were waiting for that for the last four years. So it was just, yeah, it was an unbelievable scene.

Yeah, he's rocky, basically. Mahendrous and Doney is Rocky, and like any good Rocky film needs a bad guy, a big bad guy. And Mark Wood, I mean, with the five-wicket Hall, those two ferocious deliveries that we saw that, you know, smash the stumps. Like, that was him building his ear as that undefeated bad guy. You've got to have a good bad guy for a good guy, and that sort of pantomime played out quite nicely in that sequence. It was just a moment of joy for the Indian cricket fans to see Donie going out. So, well, it was beautiful. It was, as you say, it was theater.

You know, it was amazing to watch. Yeah, fantastic cricket. So you play for four franchises in the IPL over the years. How much has it changed from when you first started? Is it completely different now? I think it's a completely different ballgame. In terms of the way the IPL is projected, how big it has become. It was still in very early years when I played the IPL.

Yes, it has become very popular. It has still all the players in the world wanted to play it. But the way it has grown in stature in the last five or seven years. And there's a massive influence of social media, I think, and the way the teams are doing it the teams are advertising and projecting it but also the cricket has changed when I was playing I remember Shane Juan

every time he was going into the dressing room like 160 was a winning total for us I don't think we ever lost a game scoring 160 9 out of 10 times you won a game of cricket and if you look at it now if you score 160 you're going to lose 9 out of 10 games so that that is how far cricket has come in the last 7, 8, 10 years

and I think yeah it's just the way the players play the game the innovations we have seen in the short selection, the bowlers have come up with so many different deliveries, which wasn't there because people were, I think, it was still too early, and people were still trying to figure out how to play this game. And its footprints are everywhere.

If you look at T20 cricket, not just T20 cricket, but just cricket globally, not just franchise leagues either, but international cricket, the way the game is played, the way that it's monetized, the way that players are being compensated, a lot of that has evolved because of this tournament, and it's continued to do so. wouldn't be surprised if rules like the impact, you know, impact player would come through.

We didn't see the bash boost point take off in international T20 cricket, which is a great shame. I think the bash boost point from the Big Bash is a great rule. But I think the IPL will have more of an impact just because how vested world cricket is in India. Just to remind us the bash boost point. Was that the point you get after 10 overs if you're ahead? That's the one. Yeah. So like winning at half time, basically.

I think that was a great innovation. What it did, Simon, was even if it was a dead game for you, if you and if you have lost the game you've lost five wickets in the first five overs and you know you can't win a game there's there was that chance of getting that extra point by getting you know getting get past a total in half a half a mark so the game between rajasthan and sunrises where rajasthan dominated the sunrise has lost early wickets at least it would have given them something to play for absolutely yeah more context you know and this is a very valuable rule what was it like playing with shame warn I mean every time uh anybody mentioned shame won it gets very emotional obviously because I got my first

cap from him. He was my first captain. It was my first team in the IPL. It was my first game. And yeah, when I first met him, the first time I met him was in London, actually, because I don't know if you remember, there was a game which Rajasthan Royals played against middle-sex at Lords in 2000, early 2010. And this is my first encounter with him. I see him coming to, and we are all like in awe of him, right? He was my hero. Because I was, when I was young, I always wanted to be a leg spinner, through an injury, I had to change as an off-spinner. So he was always my hero. I always wanted to uh i actually met him before when i was a net bowler against an india australia series in india in 2006 or 2007 uh something like that but yeah that was my real encounter where

i got to talk to him and uh pick his brain but it's just the it's just the presence and when he walks in the aura and everything and the way he make you feel he makes you feel that you are bigger than him and that was the and that was the best thing about him he always made you feel so so special even if you're a domestic player nobody knows you in the entire world but he would make you feel special. And for me, that stood out completely about him as a person. Because I imagine it'd be easy to feel intimidated by him. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So he made you feel at so much ease. And also I think the way he led, the way he managed the youngsters, they're always going to be superstars, right? There'd always be superstars in the team. But for him, I think it was more

important that he looked after the domestic players, the youngsters who just come into the scene, who don't know how to go about their job in such a big tournament he just yeah he just made it so so easy for everyone of us i mentioned you played for four franchises you also play for puna warriors deck and charges and sunrises hydrabatt who was the trickiest opponent you played against who was the who was the person you came up against you thought this person's got my number malinga right i would say what was so special about him it's just that it was impossible to pick him So I remember the instance where the first time I played against him was in Wonka Day. And I was batting really well.

I was on something like 17 or something of just 11 or something, something like that. And he came into bowl. I was quite confident. And the first ball he bowled to me, I played the ball two minutes earlier, literally. The ball was halfway through when I played my shot. And I could still see the ball. When I had my bat over my head, I could still see the ball coming. And I was like, no, he just didn't do that to me.

And I was so embarrassed to walk back to the dressing room and Shane Juan came and just had his hand around my shoulder and said, you're not the first one he did that too and you won't be the last. He has embarrassed a lot of cricketers and one of the best cricketers in the world. So there's nothing to be embarrassed about. And yeah, it's just that every time you faced him,

you felt like it felt like that, yeah, he's going to do something special. Yeah. And one of the other questions people ask as well about playing in the middle is, you know, who was the, you mentioned the trickiest bowl you've faced, Who was the fastest who sort of got the beans going?

You thought, goodness me, this... You know, we see Mark Wood rushing in sometimes. Unfortunately, I have shown it in my own team. Right, you were lucky then. No, I was not, because I had to face him every day in the net. Yeah, yeah. I'd rather face him for four overs in a match where I only have to play probably three or four deliveries from him.

But in the net, I mean, he was the hardest bowler in the net because sometimes he would bowl you a beamer in the net. And that has happened to me on a few occasions. and I was very lucky to survive. But, yeah, Sean Ted, I mean, he was probably the fastest. Unfortunately, both the fastest bowler at that time, I managed to have them in my team. Dale Stain was the another one.

So he was again in the same team. And he was, though he was very nice. He always fed you up. He never bowled your short delivery. He was just practicing his swing. So he was anything like Sean Ted. So Sean Tate, when he was in the bowling the net, he saw out the red mist sometimes.

Sometimes he didn't always know where it was going. Exactly. That's what I mean. So I've got hit on my knee by his ball as well, while baiting. It missed my thigh pass and missed my fat completely and got hit straight on my knee with a new cookover and it wasn't fun. I couldn't put my foot down for the next two days. Yeah, probably Sean Tate. What do you say to a bowler when they've bowled your beamer in the netz at like 90 plus miles per hour? Especially when they laugh after that.

Tell me off it. Tell me off it later. Well, that brings us actually two injuries. Kane Williamson out of the tournament Reese Topley Johnny Bastrop Yeah well Before the tournament though

Yeah But even though he was I think he's a massive miss He's one of the I think he's had some outstanding IPLs over the years Yeah but some Big names like Bumra and others When they miss the tournament

It does impact the tournament Some way or the other But I just feel that there's so many Amazing players in this competition And yeah Around the world You get players from around the world Playing in IPL

So it makes it such an event it absolutely does and you're right the depth is very much there but from an english perspective i think it's it's kind of devastating just to not see johnny bearsto back i mean we've been waiting for a long time to see him come back after the freak injury last year on the golf course so you know it's very very disappointing from that perspective i don't think it really hurts the commercials of the of the tournament but it's great to see players really giving it the rule i mean johnny besto was pre-tournament of course but you know cane williamson that that incident that led to his injury i mean again it was a slightly

freakish occurrence because you don't always land that way. It's utterly freakish, isn't it really? Those you hadn't seen it, he was sort of leaping in the air to try to take a boundary catch. He just fell awkwardly on his right knee. But it was the commitment that he's showing. People aren't just turning up to India and saying I'm here to collect a check.

They're very much there to put in the best possible performance they can give it. They're all in the field with the bat, with the ball to try and get signed again to try and win matches. I think there's a lot of pressure as well. You saw Ben Stokes bowling in the second game itself after it was said that he might not bowl

for the whole tournament and the moment they lost the first match he was made to bowl the second game so there's a lot of pressure from the franchise as well absolutely when you're getting paid that you know several corridors and things like that you can't just turn up I mean you have to put in your very very best there's no there's no managing workload

there's no you know sort of nursing injuries or you know just trying to hide in the squad there's none of that you have to give it your absolute all as you say we saw with Ben Stokes also Reese Topley as well we wish them our best actually because Reese Topley's had some real trouble with injuries and to do what he's done

dislocating his shoulder it's a tough one it really is tough to take there was a lot of footage up in my saw on social media with the sling with his arm in the sling and head into the ground and his father actually Dom Toppers for

topas to people who know he was talking about heart wrenching ears to watch your kid be on the other side of the world and have this opportunity, have that platform, and just on the cusp of it, just kind of miss out. I wish him the very, very best as you do, but you know a player like Reese Topley, he's not going to be out of it for too long. The IPL on Five Life Sports Extra.

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It's built to make the most of every adventure. Learn more at landrover.ca. So in the latest match in the IPL, the Punjab Kings made it two wins out of two with a thrilling five-run victory against the Rajasthan Royals. Sam Curran holding his nerve in the final over. He'd been dispatched here, there and everywhere,

earlier on in his spell. But 16 needed off the last over, and the Punjab Kings winning by five runs. The last ball went for four, but that didn't really matter. that stage and Curran held his nerve but I suppose it was also an Australian Nathan Ellis who dominated the match he took four for 30 he got the wicket of Joss Butler who's big drive on 19 took the inside edge hit the pad and ballooned up for a straightforward caught and bold butler

actually batting at three possibly because of a minor hand injury he picked up while taking the second of two superb catches Darwin 86 not out and fellow opener perhaps Siram Singh making 60 off 34 balls. They really caught the eye for the Punjab Kings. Abyshe, what did you make of that? One of the better games of the tournament so far? Probably one of the best games you have seen so far in this competition. It's still very early

days. Probably we'll see a lot more better games as we go into the tournament. But yeah, we never thought, none of us thought that this game is going to go down to Punjab Kings winning by just five runs. We thought at some point in time they're going to lose heavy. They're going to lose by 40 or 50 run margin. But this is what IPL does.

they always find a way to make it so exciting. What about that final over from Karen? I mean, that's one of the best overs we've seen so far in the competition. And his figure shows completely different. When you look at it without seeing the final over, you'll be like, yeah, he didn't bowl well. He went for 44 of his four overs. But his final over won them the game.

And that's why you pay such a heavy price for somebody like Sam Karan, because when the team requires him to perform under pressure and when it's a matter of winning and losing a game of cricket, more often than not, you will be on the winning side. What did he do well in that final over? I think he had a very, the most important thing is to have a clarity of thoughts. And I think he was very clear in his mind that he's not going to try anything different. He's just going to go Yorker every delivery.

And it worked out for him. Today, he managed to execute all six of them. Nathan Ellis, with four for 30, including the key wicket of Josh Butler and the wicket of Sanjou Samson as well. How did he go today? Yeah, I think he also kept it very simple. Just went for his stock deliveries. we saw some really good variations. He bowls a lovely back-of-the-hand delivery

and he makes it very, very difficult as a batter to set him up because he always comes up with different variety of deliveries. And if as a bowler, you get four wickets and you get somebody like Butler and Sanju-Samsan out, in that middle period, you give your team a massive chance of winning that game. Darwin, we know what he can do, 86 not out, but perhaps Simran Singh with 60, caught the eye again after. I mean, Camio the other day,

but this time he added a bit more substance to it. He plays with no fear, and in his interview, it was a good interview where he said that I've been given the license by Shikhadha Dhan where he has said, you go out there, this is the job you have, and we will back you. We will keep playing you. Even if you get out a few games, don't worry about getting dropped. And as a player, if you have that sort of a backing from a captain and your management,

you can play with a lot of freedom. Early days, Punjab Kings, they've been perennally awful in the IPL. I mean, generally speaking, they're also RANS. but two from two, they were signs last season that they're just beginning to get it together. What do you make of them? Do you see it as potential qualifiers or not? I don't, to be honest.

Even if they have won, two games, I still don't see them as potential qualifiers because they can fall very quickly as well. They can be on a streak where they will lose five or six games, and that's what we have seen over the years. They manage to win a couple of games, then they go to a period where they lose five or six and then makes it really hard for them to come back from there.

Hopefully that will change. Hopefully the perception will change, and they'll keep on winning, and Sam Karen will keep on producing such performances. And we discussed this earlier as well. They don't have very big names in the team, but I think this year, what they have done right is they managed to pick the right players for the right spot.

The IPL on Five Life Sports Extra. We've already had the Women's Premier League, won by the Mumbai Indians, and their coach, Charlotte Edwards, is back in the UK. She's been reflecting on the tournament with Ebony Rainford Brent. Pretty special and yeah I don't probably think it has sunk in because there was just so much to take in

but yeah really proud of what we've managed to achieve as a team Yeah it was a well-win tournament When you look at the big picture and now you've come home And maybe you had a few days Do you think this is going to change the women's game forever Is this a massive milestone? Yeah I absolutely do I think I think I realised that day in the auction

That I think women's cricket change as soon as that sort of player came out, Missy Mandana at 360 lakh. And I thought, I think the game's going to move pretty quickly now. And the tournament, I think, lived up to everything we thought it would be. I think we've been waiting for it for so many years now. The people that are talking to me about it who never watched cricket. I was in a supermarket yesterday and someone came up to me and just said,

I was in my pyjamas all day, Sunday, watching your team play. And I just thought that person would have never have come up to me even two years ago. And yeah, it's just, you know, it's captivated so many people and, yeah, I think it's only going to go from strength to strength. Yeah, first of all, just for the audience, it's 360 lakh or whatever the number.

It's about 360,000 pounds. So, I mean, these numbers are extraordinary. How did you find the auction? I mean, I watched as much as I could, we were doing the T20 World Cup at the same time, but how did you find that experience and being, you know, there pitching for players alongside the owner, you know,

and how did you prepare as well? Yeah. I was really lucky that we went out there probably a week early to really prepare for it. And I felt really like prepared through, you know, we did a number of mock auctions and how it would work. But I don't think it fully prepares you for when that actually first name comes out and you actually do start bidding for real. And yeah, you have to think quickly on your feet because you can lose players.

You're not expecting to lose or they go for money you're not expecting. And I guess that's where you've got to be. yeah, really clear on your team and the balance you want from your team. So, yeah, I came out of it, you know, really happy. And then obviously the team played like they did. It was, you know, I guess made it even more special. Yeah, there's some big name players, of course. You lined up for, so Nat Siverbrunt, arguably the best all rounder in the world.

Izzy Wong, who you went for is maybe an up-and-comer. Certainly Izzy Wong was because I knew she was going to come at a good price. And she'd not been picked for England. So she was probably not on everyone's radar. but I think we both know what she's capable of and that stage was set for Izzy Wong. She loves being in the big occasion and she's an X Factor type of player

but I think she exceeded my expectations of what she could achieve but I think the sky's a limit for her now. She's pretty popular in India as you probably saw and everyone's shouting her name and that hat trick she got in the Eliminator was I guess up there as one of the highlights of the WPL. Yeah, that really is.

really exciting and it's good to see players develop. I'm intrigued by the whole environment because you've got, you know, world-class players like Nat Siva Brunt, you've got younger players like Izzy Wong making their way, and you had Indian domestic players, some at the top of the game, some coming through. How did you build that culture and environment? Yeah, I think, you know, having a bit of experience in the 100 helped me, you know, having to get a team quite quickly together. I wasn't quite prepared for the language barrier and that was a bit of a challenge early doors but I had some great people within the coaching team

I guess you have to find different ways of communicating as well and I think I was just really lucky that the internationals just really gel quickly and they just were so great with all the Indian domestic players and made them feel so comfortable and we had lots of fun and I think we were pretty set on how we wanted to play and the roles that people had.

So I think that helped win in early doors as well that we won our first five games that set up the tournament for us, I think. But yeah, it was certainly a really great experience certainly from a coaching point of view to have to do that as quickly as we did. Yeah, part of your team was the legendary Jolang Goswami. Not only did you guys work together building the squad,

you both got your competitive juices going. I saw that fiery spell where she took you on trying to get her 13th wicket against you. So tell me about her and that experience, not only just working alongside a legend, but how you guys work together as coaches as well. Yeah, I mean, when I got the call about whether I would like to do the job,

they told me that Julian was involved and it was just a no-brainer for me. I'd played against it for years as of you, and you just loved the way she played the game. She's such a popular person outside of cricket as well, and she was someone instantly you wanted in your team and yeah and we've got a huge amount respect for each other we had so much fun as well we we laughed about the past we also talked about the future and how the games moved and yeah to share it with her was really special time

and a great person and obviously hugely respected amongst well not just world cricket but obviously indian players they just love julian and and obviously made my job so much easier when you've got someone in your camp like her. Yeah, just in case anybody listening hasn't seen, I would say go and check out Mumbai Indians social media. There is a clip of Charlotte Edwards, our very own legend taking on Joulangar's army. They dusted off the pads and the ball and got at it in a brilliant competition, which was good fun.

I want to talk some more about some Indian players. Harbembroke Cor, your captain, and really led from the front. I mean, you know, globally I think a lot of people would say Meg Lanning's kind of been leading way, but seeing her go against Meg Lanning in the final, she's really stepping up as a leader. Yeah, I really felt like she deserved, you know, obviously a trophy like that and to do it on home soil. And yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. She's a great cricket brain. And how she sort of responded after the disappointment of the World Cup, they came straight back to India and they just got so involved straight away. And yeah, and she played a huge part in us being

successful and the players again love her as well so to have that combination of having due land there harm and pree um yeah it was it was so good to work with those people and one thing i'm really excited about seeing you know the young players that i had not heard of before psych at shack for example coming through bursting through is an amazing scene what what will happen between now and next year because obviously in england we have our structure but is there really going to be anything linked to the franchises that helps develop those players that you have between now and the next tournament. Yeah, I mean, they'll go back to their sort of zonal teams

and they will be, you know, training professionally. And obviously, we'll be keeping a close eye on that. And we've already written reports to their coaches and they're obviously their S&C support as well. So, yeah, we'll be keeping a close eye on all of our players. But I honestly think, you know, we're just scratching the surface with their talent. I think, you know, once the scouts get out and about in terms of, you know, every team will start having, you know, an army of scouts.

I think we're going to unearth so much talent in India. It's exciting and it's what the game needed. And, you know, to be there and witness it all, as you were, it was pretty special. Yeah, we've talked a lot about the players and how they're going to develop. I want to know about you because, let's be honest, you've had a lot of success now as a coach. Forget your playing career. But Southern Vipers, you know, leaving the Southern Brave to successive 100 finals, These Sixters to the finals of Australian Women's Big Bash.

Now you've got the title here. So what's your dream for the next phase? Because it's going all right. Let's be honest. It's going all right, Lottie. Yeah, I've thoroughly enjoyed sort of going into coaching. I think everyone probably who knew me knew that probably that was going to be my avenue I'd go down.

But I think it just took me a bit of time to work out what I wanted to do. And I've absolutely loved it. I've had a reasonable amount of success. And I think that comes down. to, you know, the players you've got as well. So I'm ambitious, you know, I want to coach at the highest level like I wanted to play at the highest level. So that doesn't change.

But I'm loving the opportunities I'm having at the moment to work with different people in different franchises is what I'm, you know, I guess fully concentrated on now. But, you know, everyone wants to know, I guess if I want to coach international, I absolutely do because why wouldn't you? As I said, you want to play at the highest level. I want to coach at the highest level and that will come in time but at the moment

I'm really, really loving what I'm doing. Would you consider or fancy coaching a men's team? I would never say no but it's not something that I've thought about if I'm honest. I love the women's game. My passion's women's cricket. But, you know, I think as things evolve,

I think there probably will be opportunities in the men's game. You know, women maybe do see things slightly differently as do having men's in the women's game. So yeah, who knows. But I'm fully concentrated on sort of the women's game as it stands. Well, that was Charlotte Edwards, the coach of the Mumbai Indians in the WPL with Ebony-Rainford-Brent. A reminder, you can hear regular IPL commentary on five sports extra, as well as coverage from the county championship with every ball of every county game available on the BBC Sport website and app. And look out for more podcasts

on BBC sounds. Tailenders, much more than just a cricket podcast. Lusely cricket based, meaning we very rarely talk about world cricket. Yes, but when we need to, we can do. Boy, can we deliver. As England's greatest ever bowler, you don't need to do this podcast, but why do you? Welcome to Salemers, a loosely cricket base. Thank you, Telenors, Tully, Cricot based.

With podcast from me, Chief Force, him, Felix White, him Jimmy Anderson, matching tender walk her distantly. Tailenders. Listen on BBC Sounds.