Sledging Room – Détails, épisodes et analyse

It's time for another Indian to take over as the new ICC chairman. BCCI secretary Jay Shah was elected as the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Upon his election, Shah affirmed his commitment to making Test cricket the "bedrock" of the game during his tenure.

Meanwhile, Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies (CWI), has raised concerns about the ICC’s revenue-sharing model, warning of serious consequences if it isn't addressed soon. Test cricket has been losing its appeal in countries like Pakistan, West Indies, and South Africa, leading to empty stands during matches. The economic viability of Test cricket has been in question for years, and the rise of lucrative T20 leagues has further threatened the traditional format. Given India's financial influence in the cricketing world, Shah's commitment to supporting Test cricket is reassuring for its fans.

On the other hand, it has not been the best of times for the Pakistan cricket team lately. After the early exit in the T20 World Cup earlier this year, they suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test of the ongoing series. To arrest the freefall, the Pakistan Cricket Board has turned to Artificial Intelligence to help select players.

PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi expressed concerns about the lack of a strong talent pool to replace underperforming players. The PCB hopes its new domestic tournament, the Champions Cup, scheduled in Faisalabad from September 12 to 29, will help develop talent in the long run. The PCB plans to use AI to select a pool of 150 players based on data from the 50-over tournament.

In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Saurabh Kumar, Sabyasachi Chowdhary and Kingshuk Kusari discuss how Jay Shah's tenure as ICC head might turn out and what has gone wrong with Pakistan cricket.

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Produced and sound mixed by Sachin Dwivedi

It’s time for the last leg of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. The race for the spots in the final is heating up. India and Australia are in the pole position. South Africa and Pakistan are in with an outside chance. Bazballing England need a perfect run from here on.

India are set for their stiffest test when they are set to tour Australia later this year. Yes, Australia have not beaten India in a Border-Gavaskar Test series in a decade. And Australia are not going to go down without a fight in the upcoming 5-Test series.

Are India favourites to complete a hat-trick of Test series wins in Australia? Can a Test team that is in transition manage to repeat the heroics of the last two tours? Will Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma combine to script history?

Meanwhile, Pakistan will begin their busy home season on August 21 against Bangladesh. Questions have been asked of their all-pace bowling attack for the series opener in Rawalpindi.

Can captain Shan Masood walk the talk? Will he be allowed a free hand in this crucial phase?

In the latest episode of Sledging Room Podcast, Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar and Kingshuk Kusari discuss what promises to be an exciting few months of Test cricket.

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Produced & Sound Mixed By: Kapil Dev Singh

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

Is it fair to say the Indian team has lost the killer instinct in Test cricket with Rahul Dravid as coach? Under Ravi Shastri, India won Tests in South Africa and England and secured back-to-back Test series in Australia, a feat that was once considered impossible to achieve.

Can India continue their dominating run against Australia or will the visitors shock the hosts?

Rajarshi Gupta was joined by Akshay Ramesh and Saurabh Kumar in the latest episode of the Sledging Room.

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The Women's Premier League is finally happening. Record bids for broadcast rights and team ownership showed there is massive interest and women's cricket in India has now come of age. There is little doubt the WPL will do a lot of good for women's cricketers in the country but can it make an early impression?


Should the WPL have been launched earlier or is this the right time? How important will this tournament be for India's women cricketers especially after the U19 T20 World Cup triumph?


Also on the Sledging Room, there was a heated debate around India's preparation ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. While the Aussies toured Pakistan and Sri Lanka last year and then trained on turning pitches in Sydney, India come on the back of a series of limited-overs matches, without Rishabh Pant and the possibility of Shreyas Iyer missing the first Test in Nagpur.


Priya Nagi and Akshay Ramesh join Rajarshi Gupta for an intense debate in the latest episode of the Sledging Room.

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Should India have selected Sarfaraz Khan for the Test series against Australia? Despite lots of runs in the Ranji Trophy, Sarfaraz Khan continues to be out in the cold. Several former India cricketers have questioned the move and questioned the obsession with cricketers who look a particular way instead of focusing on the real hard runs scored in the middle.

Sarfaraz Khan has been one of India's top batters in the country's most elite domestic tournament but he found no spots in either the series in Bangladesh or the high-profile Test series to be played at home against Australia. Sunil Gavaskar said the selectors should go to a fashion show if they want to rope in models while Venkatesh Prasad said there were other players in the side who had more kgs than Sarfaraz Khan.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has been on fire for India scoring a record 360 runs in the ODI series against New Zealand. Rarely has an India batter started that well as such an early age. Only 23, Gill has scored hundreds including a double century from just 21 one-day internationals.

Is Shubman Gill the next Virat Kohli?

Saurabh Kumar and Kingshuk Kusari join Rajarshi Gupta in yet another heated, controversial debate on the Sledging Room.

Tune in for the latest episode!

Produced by Anna Priyadarshini
Sound Mix by Amrit Regi

Mankading, not anymore. Call it what you will, the furore over non-strikers' run-outs is intense every time a bowler removes the bails to 'Mankad' a batter. Rohit Sharma withdrew an appeal after Mohammed Shami dismissed Dasun Shanuka on 98 in an ODI which India already had in their grasp. Then there was an instance of a non-striker being run-out for backing up too far. But why the controversy when it is a perfectly legitimate form of dismissal.

In another heated debate in the Sledging Room, Akshay Ramesh and Saurabh Kumar join Rajarshi Gupta to dissect the bizarre comparisons between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam by the Pakistan cricket fraternity. Virat Kohli is closing in on Sachin Tendulkar's ODI world record of 49 hundreds and is in the middle of red-hot form with 3 hundreds in 4 ODIs after a dismal run.

Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, has faced flak after his team failed to win a single Test at home last year. He, is however, the top-ranked ODI batter. Kohli's sensational return to form sparked off a series of tweets from Pakistan fans AND journalists questioning the Indian star's achievements.

The fact is Virat Kohli has scored runs all around the world and in different conditions.

Tune in to listen to a fiery debate!

Produced by Anna Priyadarshini
Sound mix by Amrit Regi

Ishan Kishan, exactly a month after scoring a record-breaking double hundred against Bangladesh, was dropped for India's next ODI against Sri Lanka. The reason? Rohit Sharma said it was only "fair" to give Shubman Gill a chance after his consistent run in the format. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav, who scored a breathtaking hundred in the series-deciding T20I against Sri Lanka, did not find a spot in the playing XI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati. Was all this done only to accommodate KL Rahul?

Ishan Kishan's omission certainly left several experts baffled. At a time, India should be looking to bring in an X-factor at the top, a young cricketer was left out despite a sensational double hundred. That move also brought back memories of how Karun Nair was left out for a Test after he had scored a triple hundred against England in his previous match.

Also, remember Kuldeep Yadav who was dropped after a man-of-the-match performance in the first Test against Bangladesh? Just, what's going on with the Indian team management?

Rajarshi Gupta, Akshay Ramesh and Saurabh Kumar were involved in another hostile debate on the latest episode of the Sledging Room.

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Will Hardik Pandya take over India's white-ball captaincy soon? The all-rounder has been named as captain of the T20I side for the Sri Lanka series and has been elevated to vice-captain role in ODIs. While the Indian cricket board (BCCI) has not confirmed the change of guard in T20Is, it appears as if India are preparing for transition. Will the injury-prone all-rounder be able to manage the rigours of the workload? Is the solution to India's woes in white-ball cricket change in captaincy? We discuss! Listen in!

KL Rahul, standing in as captain for Rohit Sharma, failed in both Tests while Shubman Gill who scored his maiden Test hundred is sure to keep the former on his toes. Kuldeep Yadav returned to the Test side, scored runs, got wickets, won the man-of-the-match award and was dropped from the second Test. The Indian thinktank was severely criticised and KL Rahul had little to offer in terms of explanation for this bizarre call. Besides, as interesting things played out in Bangladesh, some interesting developments were seen in Kochi. Tune in to listen to the sporting banter in yet another episode pf Sledging Room!