IPL 2026 Predictions, Then v Now, Best Ever Players

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. At the BBC, we go further so you see clearer. With a subscription to bbc.com and the BBC app, you get unlimited articles and videos, ad-free podcasts, the BBC News Channel streaming live 24/7, plus hundreds of acclaimed documentaries. 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 and the BBC app. Find out more at bbc.com/unlimited.

You can keep up with all things IPL by watching Strategic Timeout in full on the BBC Sport YouTube channel and BBC iPlayer.

The TMS Podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live.

Hello and welcome to Strategic Time Out with me, Amba Sandhu, the show where we chat all things IPL. Now it's not long to go until the 19th edition of the competition gets underway, and here we're going to be debriefing it all, from shots to stories to wickets and all the wonderful stuff in between. And each week I'm going to be joined by a couple of fab guests. This week, everyone's favorite Faith— well, quite surreal actually seeing you in person— and traitors finalist Faraz Nawal joins us, and a former IPL player knows the competition inside and out, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala. Abhishek, Faraz, hello.

Hello.

Faraz, we're going to come to you first. Now, you are a massive sports fan but also grew up playing cricket. You still do play as well.

Still playing, try to anyway.

I know, I've seen you batting actually.

You've got the Stuart Broad— Brodie appreciated it, didn't he? So not too bad.

For context, Stuart Broad commented on Faraz's video of him batting saying shot. So I think that gives you the approval, doesn't it? Talk me through some of your earliest memories of cricket and watching the IPL.

I remember playing earliest cricket is like just playing with my dad in the gully, so to speak, playing gully cricket with my cousins as well and stuff. So much fun, honestly, I absolutely loved it. And then I remember just like watching the IPL, you see all the colours of all the kits and everything like that. You see all the stars, you see all the Dhonis and then the Pollards and all this and all that. Honestly love it. All the overseas players I used to really like watching.

It's a huge spectacle. Also, Abhishek, you'll appreciate this as a former player.

Show everyone your finger for us You used to keep, yeah, but I knackered it there, so I stopped them and just bat now.

Now he just bats for fun. Abhishek, it's a joy to have you on the episode because you're somebody who knows the IPL inside and out as a player, as a commentator. You played in 2010 for Rajasthan Royals. 2 years into the competition, you could say it was early, kind of early days of the competition building. What was that like?

It was life-changing. It was honestly a bit surreal, especially for domestic cricketers. For international cricketers, for players who are already playing for India, it was very different. But for domestic cricketers, it was life-changing to be among the best in the world, to be sharing the dressing room, to be playing with them. And it came out of nowhere. IPL came out of nowhere.

Because we didn't have anything like this. Go back to 2008, 2009, there was not a franchise tournament like this. So it was a huge gamble.

A massive gamble, massive gamble. But the way they did it, the people they bought into the tournament, the owners they bought— I mean, you got to give credit to the BCCI and whoever arranged it all. You got to give them a lot of credit. They bought the right people to make it successful. They had a game plan, and look at, look at it today.

And I guess it's really special for you to look back. You played between 2010 and 2012 for 3 different teams as well, so played with a lot of players. But you played under Shane Warne, didn't you, in 2010?

I mean, he was a special human, to be honest. And to be able to spend that much time with him was extraordinary. In everything he did. He had a big heart. He backed you as a youngster. I've played under a lot of captains. I've played with, among everyone you can think of, the modern-day greats of cricket. And I'd never seen anybody operate the way he did.

He was obviously such a character as well.

Oh, an absolute character.

There must be some stories.

Yeah, I know.

Amazing stories.

Amazing stories. Come on. I mean, to be honest, we played a lot of poker together because I used to love playing poker. So we played a lot of poker on tour. Every evening, probably we'll have a table of 8 or 9, and a lot of players from different teams always joined as well because they're always touring sides. And a lot of Bollywood joined as well because Shilpa was at that time— Shilpa Shetty was one of the co-owners for Rajasthan Royals. So she bought the whole shebang with her. The Bollywood was there. I used to play a lot of poker with Ronnie in his room because he used to love playing poker. And once I remember, so I was playing on his laptop because he was sponsored by some of the poker— massive poker companies where he used to get a certain amount of money to spend every year just playing. And I lost 3.5 grand one day. I was playing a hand with his money and I lost 3.5 grand. And honestly, when I lost that hand, I didn't know what to do.

What was he going to do?

Because I thought I had to pay him back now. Because obviously he didn't know. He was just chilling and I was playing on his laptop. And then I just turned around to him and I said, mate, I think I've made a big mess here. He's like, what happened? I think I went all in with £3,500 and I lost it. It's all right, mate, you can add that more. It's fine. I've got in my kitty, I've got more, another whatever amount of money he had. And I'm like, this is the coolest guy in the world.

Proper chicken change story.

I've literally lost £3,500 and he didn't even bother.

Who was the best at the poker table, do you think?

He was, because whenever we played, he literally 80% of the time, he'll tell me what hands I was playing on. And not just me, like with a lot of other people. And yeah, it was so funny. And there's another very funny incident we had. So obviously, you know, when you get access to a bit of money, when you see everyone around you wearing nice watches, as a youngster, you always want to wear a nice watch. So I bought a nice watch. A couple of other youngsters on the table had a nice watch. And Ronnie was wearing a nice watch. And he asked me, how much did you pay for that watch? And we were wearing the exactly same watch. Literally identical, wearing the same watch. I said, you know how much I paid for it? You're wearing the same watch. But no, no, go on, tell me, how much did you pay for that watch? I gave him a number. He said, yeah, I paid $150 because I bought them from Hong Kong. They're all fake, but I can get away with it because I'm Shane Warne. You can't. Yeah, you know, that's what makes him so special. And these, these things he does, it's just, it's wild.

Yeah, that's why we love Warne. Yeah, you mentioned the Bollywood and the big names. That's the big appeal, isn't it, when it comes to IP? IPL, and you say IPL was quite different then.

Yeah.

How has it changed in your eyes? Because it has come such a long way in the last 18 years or so.

IPL was very different in the first 3 years because you had the IPL parties. We stopped after the first 3 years. Cricket was the prime focus when it started. It always has been, it always will be. But those parties, or the Bollywood, was a lot more involved. You had a lot more into that world, which slowly, gradually stopped because players were a lot more focused on just the matches. Because the issue was those parties used to start at 1 AM and then they used to carry on till 5, 6. And you know, and then they used to carry on till 5, 6 AM in the morning and then you had a 6:30, 7 o'clock flight.

Wow.

So I think to some extent it took a lot of toll on players and the whole lifestyle around it.

You would think so, wouldn't you? Imagine that. No, like imagine having to process that.

You've just been partying from 1 till 6, then you've got to go and take a morning flight.

And for some reason they always booked us in a morning flight. And we always question that, why not an afternoon flight, you know?

T20, but they're wanting to test you, they're wanting to test your arm.

Abhishek, I love the sound of these parties. Tell me more, can you just paint a picture? Who were the names there? I want to know, what did these parties look like? Take us back.

So you really want to get me into trouble? Yes. With all my ex-teammates and my friends? I mean, see, those parties were amazing because as I mentioned earlier, you got inroad to the Bollywood because your Shah Rukh Khan is there, the Hrithik Roshan is there, all the biggest names you can imagine. Salman Khan. I mean, you can name anyone from the Bollywood who are absolute megastars. They were there for those parties.

So I guess the IPL tested your resilience in a different way.

It did.

How hard you could party.

Yeah. And how hard you could travel.

I mean, you could see the ball after.

It was a lot of fun though. It was a lot of— no one complained. No one complained.

Oh God, is it swinging in or out? I can't see. Um, so obviously those parties, as far as we know, don't exist anymore. But the big change is, of course, the money being one of them. The money that goes into this tournament, let's just be honest, is ridiculous.

You have players just wanting to play franchise cricket now, don't you, because of the money?

I'll take you back to 2006-07 when the IPL started, 2007-08. A player who played every single tournament at the first-class level would make 10 to 12 grand a year. I'm talking in pounds, which was okay money in India. Yeah, but it was not life-changing money. But when IPL came, players got a taste of a different world. Majority of them went and lived in a 5-star hotel for the first time, learned to eat different cuisines. They put themselves out there in a different way. They had to learn a lot of different things— table manners, this, that— these small things which you weren't taught when you're playing domestic cricket, because domestic cricket was never given any sort of importance in Indian cricket. It was all about India. If you're not playing for India, you're a nobody. And to be honest, to some extent, it's still the same case. Still the same. If you're not playing IPL and if you're not playing for India, even if you're a first-class cricketer who's played 80 first-class matches, you don't exist.

Yeah.

So that's the sad part to some extent. But now at least the money is there. The BCCI has improved the match fees in the first-class cricket, which makes a massive difference. Everyone can have a decent living. They can afford to buy a house. They can afford to buy a car, which in 2006 and '07, 90, probably 95% of the players couldn't even dream of.

So when you said it's life-changing, that's kind of what you mean. It transformed lives, didn't it?

Absolutely. Absolutely. And also, you see, a lot of families wouldn't allow players to, kids to take up sport. Doesn't matter which sport in India. I'm just talking sport.

Focus on studies and things like that.

Because focus on studies, become a doctor, become an engineer, become something, but no sport. First of all, it's a massive risk you take with your life anyway. Because what are the chances of you playing for India out of 1.5 billion people? The numbers don't add up. I mean, you literally have to be crazy to even play that sport and try and make it there. So, you know, but IPL changed that perspective completely. In my family, I come from a background where no one ever played cricket apart from me. And since I played and the IPL came in, everyone in my family wanted to be a cricketer. But they didn't understand how difficult the journey is.

Yes. Especially if you want to get to the top. Absolutely. So then when IPL came, it kind of just changed the game.

Changed the narrative, changed the game completely in Indian parents' mindset.

Yeah. Yeah. Because we're having a lot of breakout sort of domestic players playing now through the IPL as opposed to all just overseas, innit? There's a big focus on Indian players now in the IPL and teams building their teams around them.

Well, this was going to be my next question because as we kind of talk about the auction, the teams are kind of set now for this year's tournament. There seems to be this emphasis, like Faraz mentioned, on the uncapped players, on the, I guess, nurturing the homegrown talent. How important is that?

I think the whole league started based on that, that we want to give an opportunity to our domestic players. We want to create a massive pool of really, really talented players. Yes, it's taken a bit of time, but I think India now has a pool of players where they can have 4 different India sides, and probably they'll all challenge every international side in the world. And hence you can see how Indian cricket has grown in the last 4 or 5 years and winning 2 back-to-back T20 World Cups. It just shows you that the amount of money and time and effort has been invested in that.

They are the powerhouse when it comes to cricket. There is no doubt about that.

It's the way they win tournaments as well, like the fashion they win games. Like they don't win them by slight margins as well, do you know what I mean?

These are blockbuster games, these are blockbuster finishes that we're seeing.

What would you say is the biggest change that you've seen in the standard and in the playing that when you played in the IPL as to what it is now?

I think the ball striking. I think, I mean, I know it for certain because when we were playing, our team goal would be to try and get to 160 to 170, and 8 out of 10 matches you would win if you get 160, 170. If you get 160, 170 now, you're losing.

It's not enough, is it?

And the strike rate, even the batting strike rate, 125 was a very good strike rate, was good, was acceptable. 130 was acceptable.

Exceptional.

Yeah, now if you're striking at 130, you're not getting picked in any of these IPL sides. So that's how far the game has come, that's how much the game has evolved in the last 5 or 7 years.

Very much about batsmen's games now, I believe.

Well, we were talking about this, weren't we, that it is those pitches— I'm sorry, are just made for batters.

And bowlers, bowlers not even bowling poorly getting sent for like just miles. But I think that's the innovativeness of batsmen and being able to be 360. Back in the day when you had like people like AB de Villiers who were like sort of only be able to play at 360, only have him. But now you've got everyone being able to play everywhere.

You've got to adapt, you've got to play all those shots. Otherwise, yeah, the competition is so much that it's very hard if you, if you don't have the all-round game as a batter. And even for the bowlers, I would say they have come a long way. The innovation we have seen in bowling, the kind of deliveries they have come up with, they've got like 3 or 4 different types of slower balls. They've got so many different variations nowadays. So I think there is a, there's a massive opportunity for the bowlers to improve still, because you look at somebody like Jasprit Bumrah, I mean, he still goes under 7 and over. So definitely there is a possibility for bowlers to try and either adapt or try and find the best things they can from Jasprit Bumrah's bowling and adapt to their game, and they can be successful. It's not that it's not possible that everyone is getting hit for 10, 11 and over. There are bowlers who are going for 7, 8 and over.

Yeah. And when it came to the auction this year, then just some key names for you that really stood out. A lot of teams have retained their players. One for me, I'll just put out there, Cameron Green being the most expensive overseas. Was it over £2 million as well?

I think he's one of the best players in world cricket right now in terms of what he brings to the table— batting, bowling, and fielding. So he's a complete package. So for somebody like that, you will always expect teams to spend a lot of money, splurge a lot of money. The real pick for us was those two youngsters by CSK going for uncapped players, going for 14 crores each, which is a ridiculous sum. Prashant Veer is one of them. Imagine you haven't even played first-class cricket properly, you're an uncapped India player, you've never even been discussed to play for India, and you get picked for £1.4 million. I mean, nice, wouldn't it?

Yeah, I'll take a bit of that, bit of chicken change.

And, and now imagine the career they have in front of them if they do half decent. I'm not even saying they have to be the world beaters the first season, because it'll be difficult. They'll be under immense pressure.

That's the one thing I was going to say. When price tag's that big, you will have so much pressure on you.

Oh, you feel it every second, and I've seen it firsthand.

The TMS Podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. At the BBC, we go further so you see clearer. With a subscription to bbc.com and the BBC app, You get unlimited articles and videos, ad-free podcasts, the BBC News Channel streaming live 24/7, plus hundreds of acclaimed documentaries. 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 and the BBC app. Find out more at BBC.com/unlimited.

I would say then, does it take away from the enjoyment of this spectacle then, because there is so much pressure on you? And I guess my question that I had for you as well, Abhishek, are there nerves when you watch the auction and who you're going to end up with?

Well, I think every, every player goes through that. And obviously when you go for something like $1.5 million or pounds or whatever it is, straight away it puts a massive pressure because the expectation from your team, if it's at 10%, goes to 90%. So automatically that pressure builds on you as a cricketer. And then to go out there and first of all have the pressure of winning matches, have the pressure of the home crowd, and then on top of that you have the pressure of performing to that expectation of the money you've been paid. It all adds up. So you can imagine the kind of— I mean, how mentally strong you need to be as a human being, as a cricketer, or as a player to be able to perform under those circumstances. And that's what makes these players so special.

It's interesting to see behind the scenes of sort of professional changing room, because I was wanting to ask, sort of, when you have more senior players who might not have gone for such high prices looking at junior players who have got that, do they sort of feel that they're wanting to put that reliance onto them junior players even though they've not sort of got the credit for that? It's just from the price tag. Did you see that happen?

No, I don't think they put that reliance on them because at the end of the day, see, at what price you get picked in the auction It has nothing to do with you. So you cannot go to a youngster— if you are somebody like, say, Quinton de Kock, who's gone sold for, say, 200,000 this year, which is— he's gone for the base price.

Yeah.

And he's got young cricketers who has not even played international cricket, who is uncapped players playing for 1.4 million. Obviously, Quinton de Kock, that kid has nothing to do with anything in this process. It's all to do with the franchise and what they think the value is of the player. But if you're Quinton de Kock, you're definitely sitting there and thinking especially someone who knows the tournament so well. Yeah, that this is, this is not right.

Out of curiosity, what sort of is that split? So if someone gets sold at an auction, how much of that money goes to the player?

Everything. Every single penny, apart from the taxes you've got to pay in whichever country you're from. But every single penny goes to the player.

Faz, were there any names for you that really stuck out who's looking fairly strong for you in terms of squads?

To be fair, I think obviously Mumbai Indians are looking quite strong as always, but they always do every year.

They're one of the big dogs, aren't they, with 5 titles?

Yeah.

Same with Chennai as well.

They always do, and I think when they're in their team players, so like the Hardik Pandya is like clutch, like a proper clutch player.

But sorry, but how much pressure's on him? Not only has he got to perform as an all-rounder, but also lead the side as well. I do worry. I don't know, I do worry that—

I think he's such a cool cat. I feel he'd take it in his stride.

Yeah, I think because, see, there was a lot of expectation of him when he was a captain of Gujarat and they won the title under him.

Yeah.

And then he moved to Mumbai Indians and there was a lot of, uh, I mean, what do you call it, rumors that the deal he got himself was that you need to get Rohit out of the captaincy and I need to lead Mumbai Indians.

But you—

so that automatically puts you under immense pressure.

You're carrying the brand there. It's different when you've got Gujarat Titans and they won the title, it's fantastic. You carry now Mumbai Indians brand on your shoulders.

Also the legacy of Rohit Sharma, who's won 5 titles. Yeah, I mean, to replace him and then not do well, which they haven't in the last couple of seasons. So he's under immense pressure. Yes, he's the World Cup winner, he's done really well as a player, but he'll be judged how well he does as a skipper, given that he's got the best side. Yeah, he's got 5 World Cup winning players in his side, and you've got all those personalities as well, haven't you?

As a fan viewing it and viewing how he plays, I feel as if like he'll just love it and he'll try and thrive under that pressure. He will.

'cause the crowds will love him.

See, also there was obviously Jasprit Bumrah was looked at the next skipper for Mumbai Indians, right? Being a vice captain, he was certain to get that role. You don't know what's going on, but he must have felt that that role should have gone to me. It's been 2 years now, so things must have changed immensely. But yeah, he will be under immense pressure to keep his captaincy if he doesn't win.

Yeah.

I definitely think Pandya will take that pressure with stride and absolutely love it. But I know some players handle pressure in different ways, have certain superstitions. So I was wondering to ask you, Abhishek, in the changes, did you ever see any certain superstitions that you thought, oh, that's a bit strange?

And the first superstition you see with players is the spot where they sit, because everyone comes in and they pick their own spot and then they don't want to move, especially in the home matches. And then what colour grip? That's so, so important for every player.

Grip on a bat?

The handle, the grip, colour. It's a massive superstition for players.

Did they want it sort of matching maybe the kit?

No, nothing to do with that. It's just that, you know how it happens, that I used to play with a yellow grip.

Okay.

And one day, I mean, my grip was completely worn out and I couldn't find a yellow grip. I was absolutely livid with myself that I didn't have enough yellow grips in my kit bag. And one of my friends had a white grip. And I'm like, you know what, who cares? I'm just gonna get the white grip, put the white coat on. And I got 100 that game and never ever played with any other color. So, you know, these sort of things, it happens. And superstition comes from that.

What was sort of the biggest change that you've seen from superstitions one player might change into another?

I mean, I used to see— I used to be fascinated by watching Sourav Ganguly put his bat grip. Because he used to have a very, very thick grip in the first time. I mean, he used to put 5 or 6 grips, which I never could hold them back.

That's sure that's weighing you down.

Yeah, literally that fat. And then he has this habit of cutting a strip into like such small pieces and putting them in different places in the grip where only he could make sense of those things, which for everyone else, it was weird to hold that grip because it was just up and down. It was lumpy. It was just weird.

But for him it works.

For him it works.

Yeah.

So you see that with so many players. Yeah, I mean, Chris Gayle's bat, you can't lift Chris Gayle's bat.

It's like Thor's hammer.

It was like Thor's hammer, literally. You couldn't lift it. It was that heavy. I tried a few times. I'm like, nah, no chance with my muscles. Absolutely no chance. So, you know, all these things you see with so many different players, it's so interesting actually. And I'm sure it happens across sports.

Yeah. Yeah, it is funny to see how it translates from club level, like to what I play at, and it goes to international level and they'll even take it to next step.

Yeah, absolutely.

It is funny.

Yeah. If there's any club, um, superstitions for you when you're going out to bat?

So for me, I don't have too many, to be fair, but we have obviously in the home changing room, we have certain people have their spots.

Yeah.

Uh, and there's definitely a big kickoff if someone goes to sit there, so they have them. So if we have someone new signing, we sort of let them know where to sit.

And spoken rule, isn't it? Like, yeah, that's my corner.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And especially if a junior comes in, he's in trouble. Yeah. I mean, a senior— senior members, you still got to be respectful. And you know, sometimes if he's a bigger name, you're a bit worried about going and telling him that's my spot, you might get into a bit of trouble. Yeah, but for the juniors, yeah, you just go, "Oh, mate, what you doing?" Yeah, yeah, over there, mate, over there.

Exactly, you sit on the floor. Yeah, let's have a look at last year then, because quite a special year for RCB. After getting to so many semi-finals and nearly there, they finally won the title after 18 years. Does that make somebody like Virat Kohli one of the greats when it comes to the IPL competition?

I mean, to be honest, if, if you ask me, even Virat didn't win an IPL, I think he'd still go down as one of the greats because of single-handedly the way he has performed, the way he is. But yeah, winning a title makes a massive difference.

He was literally in tears, you know, the final against Punjab.

I think the women's team put far too much pressure on them after winning that WPL, so they had to win it.

It was like Sachin getting 100 hundreds. It just wasn't happening, and then he just wanted to. It was just ticking that box, and he's done it now. So Can he now just go into this year's season and be like, I can enjoy it now because I've won a title?

I think he would want to win one more.

I think what RCB, I always used to see it as, they used to be an incredible batting side, always. Like, you'd look at the batting lineup for years and you'd think like, this is ridiculous, how are they not winning leagues? But I feel as if that bowling depth wasn't there. But now that they've got that balance and they're always really nearly there, so it's really nice to see them get over the line last season because when you've got big names like that, It's bound to happen at some point, you know what I mean?

Yeah, obviously Kohli is up there as one of the greats, guys. Who else is up there? Who is in your top 3 greatest IPL players?

I think Suresh Raina will be right up there as well.

Really?

What he has done in the IPL, yeah, he has been exceptional in the IPL for Chennai, and I think a lot of credit goes to him for all the trophies Chennai has won. Rohit, again, he has been incredible. Uh, it's hard to pick, but one man who I think has changed, uh, IPL— I mean, what he brought to the table in the IPL, no one else did, and I don't see anybody else doing that— was Chris Gayle.

He's in mine.

Yeah, Chris Gayle.

He was— I mean, honestly, when we were playing and when we were playing the IPL, yeah, you had the likes of Virat and Dhoni and everyone, But genuinely, when Chris walked the room, you do not want to bowl at Chris Gayle. Everyone stood up. It's literally the aura he had. I mean, it's very hard to match that aura, especially in the IPL. And what he's done for the IPL— I mean, people watched IPL because of Chris Gayle.

I was one of those.

Which very few players could command that kind of respect.

He is the epitome of IPL for me.

Oh, absolutely. I think when I look back at IPL, I think I give a lot of credit to the success of IPL There are moments which made IPL what IPL is. One of those knocks from Brendan McCullum, 170 in the very first game. That, I think, that was a perfect start for an IPL. IPL couldn't have asked for anything more. And then it was Chris Gayle. I mean, the sort of cricket he played, and you know, the way he is, the fans he can bring to the table, like to anywhere he goes. I've been very fortunate recently to play a couple of Legends stuff with him. And still you see him walking around anywhere and the fan following he's got, especially in India, is second to none.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Solid top 3 there. Faraz, we've given you a little bit of time to think about yours. Your top 3.

Yeah. So this, like, favorite players for me, Chris Gayle has to be there. Universe boss. I think he's just entertainment, pure form of entertainment and him as a character as well. As you said, like his aura, just the way he carries himself, even when he bowls, when he's got his glasses on and stuff like Honestly unbelievable. Another one for me, DJ Bravo. I love watching Bravo play, honestly. Class, like, just like when I was a kid, just the feeling he got, his celebrations as well, you know what I mean? Absolutely love him. And then West Indian hat-trick for me, Kieron Pollard. He was genuinely my favourite player growing up. I think just seeing him, such a big stature. I got to see him actually last week as well, and he was even bigger in person.

He's huge, isn't he?

Honestly unbelievable. And what he contributed with bat and ball, he was just pure entertainment for me. So I love them 3s, watching them as players. Pure joy.

No surprise. I'm going Virat, I'm going MS Dhoni, and I'm going Chris Gayle. And I thought I was, you know, I've got Mumbai Indians, Chennai, and Bangalore representation there. There we go. There's my top 3. But Chris Gayle, I love that Chris Gayle was on all of our 3.

Yeah, he has to be. I think he's an absolute great of the IPL.

Right then, let's talk this year. Before I ask you who's your money on, Who are those players that we need to keep an eye on?

I feel as if Jacob Bethell will have a really— another breakout season as well. I think he'll do really well. I know obviously he had a good World Cup and he's sort of on people's radars now.

Yeah.

And I feel as if maybe this tournament he'll even exceed them expectations.

So for you, Jacob Bethell?

No, I think Jacob Bethell, obviously he's one of the most talented young cricketers in the world by a distance. The innings he played against India was a bit ridiculous.

He's a fearless player, isn't he?

He's a fearless player, and also he's got so much talent. And he's somebody who's a bit different than a modern-day T20 player. He's not a— he doesn't go out there and slog. He actually plays cricketing shots, which is so, so special, and which is really refreshing to watch. And he's one of those players who's exceptionally good against spin, which you don't really see that very often in players from Australia, England, anywhere apart from the subcontinent. Yeah. So it's somebody who plays spin in the subcontinent, and if, if you can play spin well, you'll be very successful in India.

Yeah.

Yeah.

One for me, Kartik Sharma. Yeah, I think, I don't know, he's had such a great domestic season. I don't know, I think he's just— and he's also, his strike rate last year was insane, it was like 164. So he's somebody for me that I'm like, I think he's gonna have a good season.

I think Duell Brevis as well. He's, he's a very special player. I think he's going to do something amazing. He's got so much talent. Yeah, there's so many amazing young cricketers to look forward to in this tournament.

All right then, probably the question you don't want to answer, but I'm going to ask you anyway. Who's your money on? Who is going to win the title this year?

You know what, I think Hardik Pandya's boys will do it.

You reckon Mumbai Indians for a 6th title?

I genuinely think Mumbai Indians will do it again. Okay, they'll take them over the line. I think he'll just thrive under that pressure, and I feel as if they're absolutely star-studded team, so I think they'll go all the way.

All right then, so For Faz, it's going to be Mumbai Indians. Abhishek, for you, I'm going to put you on the spot.

I think I'm going to go with a couple of low-key teams. Delhi, because the balance they have. They don't have big names, but it's such a balanced side that I'll be very surprised if they don't make it to the top 4 at least. And then Punjab, because of Shreyas Iyer. Yeah, I absolutely love that guy.

My kind of heart is with Punjabi team, and I know everyone's in the comments going to be like, it's because you're Punjabi. I don't care, because when it was the final last year, I'm a big Kohli fan, but also Punjab. So I was kind of conflicted, but I would love Punjab to get a title.

I would love Punjab to get the title because of Shreyas Iyer. Yeah, but what he has done, and also, I mean, I, in my personal opinion, he should have been picked in every India side. So talented, he's such an unbelievable player, and he's done so well whenever he's got an opportunity in the last 12 to 18 months. So just to look past him every time, I think it's a bit unfair. So just for that sake, I think he, he should be the highest run-getter in this year's IPL.

Yeah.

And he should win the trophy.

Hey, it's going to be a big tournament. Thank you both for joining me. It's been an absolute joy. We'll be back next week where we'll have had a number of fixtures to debrief and we'll see you then.

The TMS Podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. At the BBC, we go further so you see clearer. With a subscription to bbc.com and the BBC app, You get unlimited articles and videos, ad-free podcasts, the BBC News Channel streaming live 24/7, plus hundreds of acclaimed documentaries. 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 and the BBC app. Find out more at BBC.com/unlimited.