Asia Cup: Lack of handshakes the focus as India beat Pakistan

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk. This is the story of the One. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Grainger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by for the ones who get it done.

This is the story of the 1. As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-granger click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live. Hello, I'm Nick Esh Regani. Welcome to the TMS podcast. The Asia cup is well underway and not without its drama as tempers flare between India and Pakistan after the players did not shake hands following India's seven wicket victory. So what happened, what's been said and what's the reaction been to the events following the match in Dubai on Sunday? To go over it all, I'm alongside Atif Nawaz. Good morning to you Atif. How are you?

Morning Nicks. Yeah, very, very good. It's been an exciting season and I thought things would wind down, but I think we're gonna have a fun discussion today.

Absolutely, yes. Now, we've often joked about the lack of drama, haven't we, amongst ourselves in terms of results on the field when these two sides play. But there was certainly lots of drama after the game. This time around, before we focus on the match itself, we've got to talk about the handshake situation, as some of you may have seen on social media and to give some background to the tensions between India and Pakistan. The latest tensions, the latest incident which has caused bad blood was the Balagam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir which is in Indian administered Kashmir. 26 civilians were killed by gunmen in April this year, 25 of whom were Hindu and Christian tourists. India blames Pakistan for being involved in the attacks. The Pakistan government denies all this, but the incident almost led to a full out war when Air strikes were being launched by both nations for three days in May this year before a ceasefire. In cricketing terms, India will not travel to Pakistan and vice versa even in major tournaments. So as we've seen in the Champions Trophy and Women's World cup alternate neutral venues will be used.

If you.

Here's what India captain Suryakumar Yadav said after the match. I feel few things, few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit also.

And I've already answered it, I've told it at the presentation as well that we actually stand with all the victims.

Of Pelgam terror attack and we stand.

With their families also express our solidarity also as I said at PC, that.

We, we dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindur.

And as they continue to inspire us.

All, we'll try our best whenever given.

An opportunity to inspire them as well.

So Atif, those the thoughts of India captain Surakumar Yadav. He said some similar things in the post match presentation that was from the press conference which followed. He was asked obviously about the lack of handshakes and that was his response. What do you make of that?

To be honest, I was really disappointed because there was so much to talk about and celebrate in terms of the cricket itself. If this sort of sequence hadn't played out right now we'd be talking about how amazing India's bowlers were. We'd be talking about Kuldeep Yadav, we'd be talking about Abhishek Sharma. There were so many good performances to focus on but like it was barely, the cricket was barely referenced in the press conference. You know, of course like you've mentioned, there was this huge, you know, big issue between the country. Issue isn't really the word, doesn't have the magnitude but you know what I mean, right between the two countries. But I was really hoping the sport would be at the forefront on this occasion. It would be more about sport. It would be an opportunity to build bridges. It would be an opportunity to move forward. There was this lovely incident in the crowd during the match where I think one of the Pakistani batters was dismissed really early. There was an India fan in the crowd who was sort of celebrating in the face of a Pakistan fan and then they just sort of hugged and it was like, it was like a reminder of old days where you could do that without being lambasted on social media. Yeah, it's very disappointing. Like, you know, it's quite clear and it's been subsequently become more and more clear that it's come as a sort of a directive almost from, from the government that, you know, these are, these are very important statements to make politically. Maybe it didn't look great for like lots of lovey dovey hugs and kisses and things like that on the pitches, which I sort of understand. But I feel like the bare minimum is a handshake. And my thought is that if they were uncomfortable with the handshake, the Indian team at any point they simply should have refused to play the game. Like I think, I feel like it's just my opinion, nobody else's. But if you feel like you can't shake hands with your opposition, you shouldn't be playing against them at all. And so if there was some issue, it should have been directed to the people who are insisting the match take place rather than the people that you played against. You know, it was just, just sad really because like the whole discourse is hijacked by politics rather than the thing we liked it to focus on, which is cricket.

Yeah, of course. And there has been a lot of talk about potentially India not playing against Pakistan at major events and we'll get into that in just a little while. But let's get the reaction of Mike Hessen, the Pakistan coach who also gave his thoughts on the handsh in his post match press conference. Well, look, obviously we were ready to shake hands at the end of the game. We obviously were disappointed that our opposition didn't do that. We sort of went over there to shake hands and they'd already gone into the changing room. So that was a disappointing way obviously for the match to finish and a match that we were disappointed the way.

We played, but certainly were, you know.

We'Re willing to go and shake hands. So sticking with handshakes as well. There was no handshake at the toss and this has become a bit of an issue now because of what happened after the game. Had the players shaken hands after the game like you normally do in, in any cricket fixture anywhere in the world, whether it's club cricket, village cricket or international cricket, then I think there would be less focus on that. But, you know, videos are coming out now, of course, sort of where the toss took place and, and the fact that Salman Aga and Sur Yadav didn't shake hands. There was no attempt to shake hands. It wasn't as if, you know, Surumar left him hanging or anything like that. And the Pakistan Cricket Board has alleged that the match referee, Andy Pycroft had instructed the Pakistan captain Salman Aga not to shake hands with Surya Kumar Yadav at the toss. They've sent a strong letter to the ICC asking him to be removed a match referee for this competition. I mean, it just keeps going on and on and on. This, this whole incident, it starts with, you know, just a lack of handshakes after the match. Now, before the match. Now the match referee is apparently instructing the Pakistan captain not to get involved. I mean, according to the letter that the PCB has written to the icc, they allege that Andy Pycroft handed his microphone to the Pakistan media manager because he didn't want to be recorded or for this to be leaked anywhere. And then allegedly instructed Salman Aga that as per the Indian government's wishes, there will be no handshakes before the match at the toss and just, just to avoid anything like that while, while they were tossing up with Ravi Shastri there. So I mean, your reaction to that as well, if, if that is true, that is, that that is huge, isn't it? The, the Indian government potentially getting involved in instructing a match referee at a cricket tournament to make sure that the captains don't shake hands. I mean, you couldn't make it up, could you?

No. It feels like something out of an espionage thriller, doesn't it? Feels like something out of a Jason Bourne or a James Bond film. I. But look, again, like you said at the very start, Nikesh, like the context is important and like, you know, there's because of the situation between India and Pakistan, because of the tempers and the, the, you know, the very, very aggressive language that has been used across the board by fans. It's like it's a situation that sort of people might feel like they need to mitigate. Now my sort of thinking is I can sort of understand a government thinking. It's not a good look for our captain to be shaking hands with the captain of a country who we've got very strong hostilities with at the moment. I can understand that. But the way to do that on a cricket pitch is to communicate it beforehand. Now we've seen this happen with sort of Russian and Ukrainian athletes not shaking hands in tennis and things like that, but it's agreed upon before and it's not decided like moments before the toss happens. Like, I felt so bad for Salman Aliaga who ended up getting what, a three ball duck in the match. Like it's the biggest match of his life. He's captaining Pakistan for the first time against India. You know, eyes of the world are on it and all this sort of war hysteria and war and then he's been told before the match starts, allegedly. Okay, but he's been told that you can't, you know, you can't shake hands. And now this is a new layer of a quite a heavy thing to put on somebody just before they enter this big match. Like I, I, I think if they'd made an agreement beforehand, both boards or governments or teams, whatever that, look, we're not going to do the handshake thing so no one's going to be embarrassed. No, it's just an understood thing. We're not going to do the handshake thing. I think it would have been fine. I think, you know, people wouldn't have, there might have been a little bit of noise but it wouldn't be what it is right now. You know, the end of the match was a really bad look because sort of the Indian players won the game, disappeared into the changing room, shut the door of the changing room. Pakistan's players sort of waited on the pitch for a while and then left. And it was obviously very embarrassing for them and it was a double embarrassment because they've been embarrassed on the pitch and how they've been embarrassed off the pitch. And the, the second bit was really in my opinion, unnecessary and, and quite disrespectful.

Absolutely. Now look, these sort of incidents I guess between the two countries go back decades and decades and decades but in our lifetimes, I guess 1999 was, was the first time we remember the two countries sort of, you know, having this level of tension between them. It led to the Cargill War of 1999 and then post that sort of relations took a couple of years to rebuild and they, you can understand, I guess from an Indian point of view on the ground, lots of the Indian public just saying, well, we shouldn't be playing them at all, we shouldn't be playing matches against Pakistan because we're basically almost at war with this country. Why would we want to play them in cricket? Cricket is not important. People are dying out there on, on the border and in Indian administered Kashmir and we just don't accept this as, as a sort of any sort of relationship with Pakistan. And the Indian government has been quite clear on that for a little period of time. But that st loosened and they've instructed the BCCI that they can play against Pakistan at major tournaments such as the Asia Cup. So, so that said, you know, there was a lot of talk about the fact that this Asia cup might not happen if India refused to play against Pakistan. And then that could have a knock on effect to World Cups and then where do you end? But the fact that they have agreed to play, they could have quite easily used this as a sort of, you know, an example, I guess, to people of both nations that, you know what, we share so much. We've always generally got on the people on the ground don't really have beef with each other.

It's.

We don't see any incidents, do we? You and I have covered India vs Pakistan matches all around the world and you see nothing but friendship on the whole. In the stands. You, you see, you see couples. You know, I, I remember Old Trafford in the, in the World Cup. That was here in 20. When was it? 20, 19. Now it's that long ago. You know, there was a couple, there was an Indian man, a Pakistani woman who were married. They had a kid. The, the most that they got into an argument about was who their daughter's going to support when she grows up. She was a baby in arms at that time. And I think the, the Indian gentleman was winning the argument at that time. But you never know what could have happened in, in the years gone by. But it's all a bit of fun, you know, sharing food in the stands. You see people, you know, shaking hands, giving each other a hug at the end of the match, no matter what the result and, and they get on with it. And that is the example that cricket can set people of, you know, both nations on the ground, isn't it? And that was a big opportunity missed, I feel, at that match yesterday.

I completely agree with you. I mean, I saw a lot of content creators because obviously it's an India Pakistan match, so you're going to have content people about and you know, I saw a lot of them sort of doing sort of friendly content after the match of, in an India shirt, going and interviewing Pakistani fans and like, then vice versa and things like that. Just getting opinions and keeping it on the game and about which players it. Like, I, somebody asked the question, like, if you could have one of the Indian players on your team, who would you have? And this lady, without hesitation was like, Hardik Pandya. Just, you know, we'll give you, any of our people, just give us Hardik Pandya. I mean, it was, it was, it was there, there was a huge segment of the fan base who just want to watch cricket. Like, you know, life can be very depressing and you know, that's, cricket is supposed to be entertainment and escape from that, escape from some of the, you know, difficult realities that people have to deal with on a day to Day basis. And, yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. It's an opportunity missed. It's a shame because every little bridge at the moment is so tenuous. You know, you almost think maybe it was better if the game didn't happen at this point. Although maybe I'm thinking with my Pakistan cricket fan hat on because they took a hammering. But, like, I think, like, you know, my whole. My thing, thought of it on, it sort of adjusted because I was watching it and thinking, okay, like, you know, if you didn't want to play the game, if you felt like, you know, there's an issue of sort of patriotism or sedition or anything, like, on those terms, then you could do what the players during the World Championship of Legends did, which is just refused to play. Now, they sort of did it irresponsibly as well by doing it at the very last minute, disappointing fans and such. But you have a lot of time to decide that you don't want to get involved. If you feel like you're being compelled to be involved, then at that point you need to take that issue up with the people who are compelling you rather than the team opposite you, who's going to play. And, you know, I know a lot of Pakistan fans were really. They were ready to obviously be very critical of their own team, but also, you know, recognize the brilliance of the Indian team because they were superb on the pitch yesterday. But, you know, I don't. I think now, obviously, we'll go through it, but generally, the. The game itself and the little patterns and the little moments of it have sort of been massively overshadowed.

Yeah, I mean, it's. It seems a long, long way, Atif, doesn't it, from that 2004 India tour of Pakistan. It was a number of years since India had taught Pakistan. I think 15 years since they last went there. When Sachin Tendulkomeli's debut, in fact, in 1989, they didn't go throughout the entire 90s. And then in 2004, they finally had a test tour of Pakistan with an ODI tour attached to the back of it. It was known as the Friendship Tour. And then they ended up touring each other, didn't they? Several times over the next few years. And the relationships between the players were brilliant. The relationships between the two nations were very good at that time. And, you know, Indian fans were crossing the Wagah border in Punjab, going over to Pakistan. They were being offered free accommodation. They were being offered free food off the streets and in restaurants. They weren't being charged for things they were being given gifts. And then the Indians replicated that when the Pakistanis came over in 2005. I mean, that's the kind of thing that can build bridges between countries. And it seems, unfortunately, that we're a long, long way from that. You know, we'll, we'll wait and see because they're probably going to play each other again in the, in the Super 4 stage. So, yeah, I don't think this is quite done. As of the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live.

This is the story of the One. As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Granger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

This is the story of the 1. As head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces. Plus 24. 7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. At the BBC, we go further so you see clearer. With a subscription to BBC.com, you get unlimited articles and videos, hundreds of ad free podcasts and the BBC News Channel streaming live 24. 7 from less than a dollar a week for your first year. Read, watch and listen to trusted independent journalism and storytelling. It all starts with a subscription to BBC.com find out more@BBC.com unlimited. Let's talk about the cricket. And look, ultimately it was another one sided affair, wasn't it? But it doesn't take away from the fact that you probably watched every single ball of that right up until the end. Artif.

Of course not. Yeah, I oddly enough I was watching it at a friend's house who. So he's Pakistan, he's married to an Indian woman. It was quite. It wasn't as tense as I thought it was going to be, so I was quite pleased about that. But yeah, no, I mean you sort of. I think I've jokingly mentioned in our, in our chats before this podcast that we could just record the opening to the Podcast yesterday another comprehensive victory for India and I was kind of proven right. Look, I mean both teams are at a very different stage in the, in their development and it really shows. I would say India look very polished. I mean Surya Kumariadav, even though he's sort of like, you know, relatively new to this role of like captain of India's T20 team, he just looked very polished on the pitch. You know he was very smart about the way he made his choices. I was really impressed with the way he stuck in over in from Abhishek Sharma to prevent Hardik Pandya to have to bow at the death. It was just a really clever move that will probably go really under. It's sort of one of those things that goes unappreciated in a game of cricket because even towards the end, even sort of the mighty Jaspreet Bumra because of the nature of the pitch he's going to take some hits and, and you know like Shaheen got them away but really the headline for me was the masterclass from Kul Yadav. He was just phenomenal. I mean the minute he got stuck in Pakistan's batters just looked like they had no real response to him. I don't think anybody made anything of substance other than Sahib Zada Farhan who got sort of 40 less than a run of ball in a T20. But even that you sort of don't begrudge him because the quality of the bowling was so good. It was, it was hard to find a solution for them at some stage. That's what I thought anyway.

Yeah, I mean he top scored with 40 from 44 but it was really Shane with those hits at the end, wasn't it who got them up to. I don't know if you can call 127 for 9 from 20 overs respectable but at least something for the Pakistani bowlers to a go at 33 not out from 16 balls. Four sixes in that and and some huge hits. He has got the capability to do that at the back end of the innings but yeah, he just was let down really by that middle order who couldn't handle India's spinners as you mentioned they called it. We had of 3 for 18 from his four overs. Akshar Patel with a couple of wickets, one for Varun Chakravarti and I think it's quite heartening from an Indian point of view as well that three wickets went to the seamers. Of course Jasper Bumrah is always going to be in the wickets but he picked up A couple Hardik bandia picked up 1, 2. And on those pitches in the UAE, those dead slow, slow pitches which take a lot of turn from ball one, I think it's a positive sign from an Indian point of view that their seamers also got stuck in and in amongst the wickets. And then with the bat look, it was always going to be a very low total given India's destructive batting lineup. And well, I guess the Shaheen Shah Afridi threat really would have had, you know, bad memories for India in the UAE that 20, 21 T20 World Cup I believe it was where he just blew India's top order away. But different top order this time. Fearless Abhishek Sharma at the top kind of nullifying that Shaheen spell at the top. Two overs, none for 23. And first ball of the innings, he dances down the track and smashes Shaheen back for four runs. Gets the ball on the full. And I think that really set the tone for the chase, didn't it?

It did. I think you know, Shaheen was guilty as he often is actually of just over pitching and looking for that swing. He knows there's nothing in the surface there for him so he wants to bowl as full as possible. Whereas I think he really could have taken his cue from Jaspreet Bumra a little bit earlier on who bowled the length, who maintained a length for the most part and then went to the fuller delivery as a sort of change up, you know, just Rebrand's first wicket. The bold he got was from a, you know, a yorker length delivery which is, you know, fine. But you know you gotta, you gotta take in into account the, the buildup. I feel like Shaheen recently he's been going for that magic ball quite a lot like looking for that magic moment where I can just get through the bowler when really he just, you know, like if his captain had a little bit more gravitas perhaps cuz he's still a young captain, Salman Alaga, he could just walk over to him. So just, you know, don't be so greedy. Just pull back your length, put some pressure on the batters. As you say, it's very hard to contain. Abishek Shar, he played some terrific shots, really exciting. I was sitting with somebody who didn't know much about him and I was telling them, you know, this guy is an incredibly special player and you know in his first 17 matches for India he's already got 222 T20 international century. So he's, he's a big, big Player and a big star and you know, he played some great. It was slightly soft dismissal I thought but at that point you could argue the job was pretty much done. Sur Kumar Yadav again, you know, with his captain's knock, just didn't do anything too flashy. Just I thought, you know, reigned himself in a bit just to make sure that there were no, you know, there were no more incidents. He could just guide the team over the finish line, which he did quite, you know, quite serenely really in the end. And one thing I didn't have on my bingo card, Tish, was Sim Au being the top wicket taker for Pakistan. Took all three Indian wickets to fall. It's, I think they're trying to use him in a sort of modern day Muhammad Hafeez role where he sort of opens a batting, opens the bowling and things like that. But yeah, it was 127. Well, it looked fine but I mean it's just the Pakistan had a lot of hype around their mystery spinners as well, Abrar and Sufyan. Maybe if they had a little, a few more runs to work with, they could have been more potent. But generally it felt like, you know, India had that chase pretty much in hand. I don't think there were any major or even minor really threats to the result at that point. And the fact that it went 16 overs I think was a bit of a, you know, that, that in and of itself was a bit of a surprise given that India's top water destructiveness. But yeah, it was quite alarming from, in a cricketing perspective certainly for Pakistan, because it felt like the Gulf was quite wide and there's no sort of immediate response to that. Normally you look at a loss and you think, okay, we could have executed this better or that better or that better. But like India kind of dominated bat, bowl, field. So if they do meet again in the Super Fours, which we think they will, it's almost certain. But that requires Pakistan to beat UAE and that's not a given, folks. Yeah, it's, it's hard to see what Pakistan do differently. You know, it was suggested the toss, like Pakistan won the toss, decided to bat first and you know, Suri at the toss was like, well, you know, we were going to bowl first anyway, so. And you sort of understand why on that kind of surface they got to sort of go back to the drawing board and do a little bit of work. I think for Pakistan, if you don't execute your plans 100% bang on, you're not really going to have A chance against this Indian team.

I think the positives from a Pakistan point of view. You mentioned Abrar there didn't take a wicket, but was very, very tight against some really good hitters of spin in that Indian batting line. At four overs, none for 16 to go, at four runs and over. Brilliant. But obviously given the, the low total that India were chasing, it wasn't really enough to peg them back. They needed wickets, didn't they? Pakistan and Sai Myoub, 3 for 35. His figures. Look, I know you laugh when you say bold, okay? But he had some, some potential in there. He's not a frontline bowler, but he can do a job in the power play. And a couple of really, really good deliveries, which I think were encouraging, particularly against, you know, opposition that might not be as potent against playing spin bowling going forward. So. So some positives for Pakistan with the ball, you'd say, but yeah, certainly, I think work to do if they've got any ambitions of winning this tournament. But they've done it before, haven't they? Look, they've started slowly in World Cups. They've started slowly in other tournaments too, and they've ended up just peaking at the right time. 2017 Champions Trophy, prime example. You and I were, Were there for most of that, so. So don't lose hope, my friend. I'd shake your hand right now if I could and give you a hug.

I appreciate, I appreciate. I appreciate you, bud. I mean, yeah, no, no, of course, you know, there's, you know, there's reasons to. Obviously we watched the game, we hope for the result. But, you know, at the. Just watching that performance on the pitch from India yesterday, I think it was just really clear how they've, you know, it taken that rivalry and sort of made a big gulf in the two teams. Like they used to be quite a close game. India, Pakistan at. In modern times, more and more, it's become more of a foregone conclusion that India heavy favorites and then you just have, you know, the, the few outlier games that Pakistan can, can get over the line. But yeah, generally, I think, you know, right now India is going through a golden period in terms of talent, obviously World Champions, Champions Trophy Champions. So, you know, this Indian team is something very special. The depth that they have. I think there's few in the world that could challenge them right now.

Yeah, I think so. Certainly favorites for this competition and probably the T20 World cup next year on home soil too. But guess what, artifact? There are six other sides taking part really, in the Asia cup as well, yes, and look we, we talked about it, didn't we, in the first episode that this was not the most difficult group for India and Pakistan. You'd expect both them to qualify. Oman and the uae, the other two sides in their group. In the other group, things looking quite tight already. Bangladesh have played a couple of games. They've only got the one win. They lost to Sri Lanka of course, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan both winning their only matches so far. Afghanistan yet to play either Sri Lanka or Bangladesh but they beat Hong Kong quite comprehensively as you'd expect. Let's talk about Sri Lanka versus Bangladesh. I mean Bangladesh going into that match off the back of a victory against Hong Kong, which I actually predicted would be a difficult match for them. Maybe I was just trying to wind Roshan Alem up on the previous episode but, but it wasn't to be. They got passed them quite comfortably in the end but coming up against a very strong Sri Lanka side and Sri Lanka with, with a comfortable victory, you know, chasing 140 to win, got home six wickets in hand, more than five overs to spare. It was all pretty businesslike from Sri Lanka and you know, you look down their lineup as well. They've got some experience, some talent, some, some real streetwise cricketers in there. Batum Nisanka, Kusal Mendes, the Kusal Pereira in that lineup, Dasan Shana Asalanka of course the skipper and then with the ball. So many of these players play franchise cricket all around the world. The likes of Nuan Tashara Dushmanta, Jamira Matissa Patirana, the, the clone of Lasith Malinga, Wendu Hasaranga of course has been playing in the IPL for a number of years too. They've got lots of streetwise and know how, and they know how to win tournaments. They've won this tournament a fair few times in the past as well. Six titles in the Asia Cup. Across formats they seem to get the business done when it matters they do.

And they, you know, the schedule wasn't very kind to them I thought because the first four, it's like some teams that play two matches before they got to play the first one. And also everybody else, all the other test playing nations got to play against an associate nation in their first game. But Sri Lanka had to play Bangladesh, a full member nation in their first game. So they didn't get that. I mean it's not disrespectful, I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but that sort of warm up match in Inverted commas. They didn't get that. All those matches were really one sided and I'm sure you'll run through the results in, in a sec. But they were all, everything's been one sided. And then you get this match and you think, okay, this is going to be tight, it's going to be close. But Sri Lanka just sort of reminded everybody that we're here too. Like though there's all this India, Pakistan stuff, people talking up Afghanistan's chances and oh, Bangladesh with Rish and Sri Lanka. Hang on a second, hang on a second. We won this tournament six times. We're here and just don't forget it will be a very interesting three way between those three teams. But just looking at that Bangladesh match against Hong Kong, I mean they looked strong and the result sort of flatters their performance a little bit for me because if you looked at all the scorecards, all right, okay, Pakistan win one sided against Oman and India win one side against UAE and everything's fine. But sort of the Bangladesh one sort of flatters them a bit because Hong Kong for a minute, maybe it was just a minute, but for a minute it felt like they could create a surprise there. Sri Lanka look very, very strong as you say and I think, you know, whilst everybody's eyes are sort of elsewhere, they can quietly just work themselves into a good position. They will have a tough game against Afghanistan but having come through a game against Bangladesh, you'd sort of back them as favorites to finish on top of that group.

Yeah, Sri Lanka certainly look strong and you'd expect them to be qualifying for the super fours. Afghanistan looking strong too given their lineup. So you'd think they would the two favorites. I mean in terms of Bangladesh though, let's focus on them a little bit because they're going through a transitional phase, aren't they? Some of their senior players, their star players of yesteryear have stepped down particularly from this format. And you know they've, although they've got the likes of Lytton Das and one or two others, Mehdi Hassan, who, who've been there and been to World Cups and, and have that experience, you got some real young players coming in and, and actually making a bit of an impact. Jacar Ali played well in that match against Sri Lanka towards the end, getting them up to that total of 139. They've got Rishad Hussain, the young leg spinner. There is talent coming through Bangladesh and I guess a change of approach is what they're trying to look at. They're trying to play modern T20 cricket as opposed to the sort of ODI format across 20 overs, which is what they've done over the last five or six years. And they've, they've been, they're trying to do that by changing personnel. It's going to take a bit of time, isn't it? As these things do.

It's exactly the same as Pakistan. I mean, you have to accept that you're going to have a transitional phase as a team if you're going to invest in a new direction, new personnel, new team and a new philosophy, which is what, as you say, what Bangladesh is trying to do. And again, just not having too short memories like they, they just won a series against Pakistan in the T20 format and that's a big result still for Bangladesh. So, you know, to. They have got some positive results. It's like it's, you know, easy to sort of over amplify on one, on one game. But they do have the, they definitely have the personnel to be Bangladesh, to be Afghanistan. I beg your pardon. Which they obviously now need to do to go through and perhaps hope that Sri Lanka can beat Afghanistan as well. But like, you know, they, they can be. They're a lot better that they showed themselves to be against Sri Lanka. I just think again, everybody was caught napping against Sri Lanka a little bit about. Just sort of slept on Sri Lanka thinking about everybody else. But Sri Lanka was kind of like, you know, in this, on, on the sidelines of everybody's thoughts. But yeah, you know, without a doubt, it's a good team. It's a team that will take time to gel, to come together and, and build something. Not everybody can do what India does. You know, I don't know how India does it really, because they blood new players and they immediately perform. And it goes back to Surya Kumariadav's first game. It goes back to Ishan Kishan's first game, Abhishek Sharma. I mean, you can't ask for more than a player coming in and starting hitting centuries right off the bat in a T20 international. So, you know, every team has to sort of accept, like every other team, I should say, has to accept a period of, of. Of just, you know, where you're going to get mixed results and difficult results. And I think that's where Bangladesh is at the moment.

Yep, exciting times. I think ahead for Bangladesh though, given the amount of talent that is coming through. Look, plenty of time to go in this Asia cup as well. More stories, more talking points and we'll bring them to you here on the TMS podcast. But for now, my thanks to you, Atif Nawaz.

Virtual Handshake hey, of course I'll give you a proper one next week.

Of course. So that is it for this episode of the TMS podcast. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode, including no Balls with Kate Cross and Alex Hartley. And you can keep up to date with all things cricket by following bctms on X and bccricket on Instagram. Thanks for listening and we'll speak to you next time. The Women's Football Weekly has found a.

New home in its 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. They're throwing some big money around.

I want to see how they line up, how everyone fits in.

Episodes will be available every Tuesday as.

Ever, alongside special unfiltered player interviews from the biggest name in WSL and beyond. To make sure you never miss an episode, just search for BBC Women's Football.

Weekly and hit subscribe once you get there. This is the story of the one as head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces. Plus 24. 7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done at the BBC, we go further so you see clearer. With a subscription to BBC.com, you get unlimited articles and videos, hundreds of ad free podcasts and the BBC News channel streaming live 24. 7 from less than a dollar a week for your first year. Read, watch and listen to trusted independent journalism and storytelling. It all starts with a subscription to BBC.com find out more@BBC.com unlimited.