Bits and Pieces : The friendliest cricket podcast LLLC

When was the last time the media, the selectors, the commentators, or even the coach could speak their mind freely or take a hard call in relation to an Indian superstar? India's anchor-heavy T20 World Cup squad selection was followed closely by the Virat Kohli - Sunil Gavaskar spat, bringing back attention to the uneasy power that the holy cows of Indian cricket hold. Is this unique to India? To cricket? Are the fans to be blamed? Is there a way out? Sharda Ugra joins the gang this week to dissect why the stars reign supreme in the country of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth (and Amitabh Kant).

Shownotes:

1. Sharda's piece on the Kohli - Gavaskar tangle: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/a-virat-kohli-sunil-gavaskar-tangle-and-an-indian-cricket-reality-101715003613662.html
2. Sharda's 2015 open letter to Kohli: https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sharda-ugra-a-letter-to-virat-kohli-951641
3. Sharda's piece on Shastri 2.0: https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/come-to-think-of-it-whatever-happened-to-ravi-shastri-1-0-1223184

Sharda isn't on Twitter (she's smart in so many ways), but we are:

1. Bits and Pieces: https://twitter.com/bnp_cricket
2. Chops: https://twitter.com/el_chopernos
3. Srinath: https://twitter.com/srinathsripath
4. Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins
5. PDP: https://twitter.com/prashantdptweet

Tony, Chops and Nitin chat about the latest happenings in the unending IPL, and cast their deep focus on the strange edge-case that was witnessed at the end of SRH v RR, where Bhuvneshwar Kumar pinned Rovman Powell lbw, with two runs needed to win off the last ball. And now that the Indian team for the World Cup has been selected, our friendly panelists wonder wistfully about the glorious past weeks, when we could all still play selection predictions. Alas.


Come for the banter, stay for Prashant DP's latest impeccable impressions, this time, of the CSK coach Stephen Fleming.
Follow us on Twitter:
1. Bits and Pieces: https://twitter.com/bnp_cricket
2. Chops: https://twitter.com/el_chopernos
3. Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins
4. Tony: https://twitter.com/notytony
5. Stephen Fleming: https://twitter.com/prashantdptweet

From book cricket to stick cricket to cheat mode, the scoring rates in IPL 2024 continue to soar out of the realms of anything we could have imagined. Max, VaMu and PDP come together in Episode 121 to explain how we are reacting to this nose-bleed inducing run-flation, and also 'why' we are reacting this way. This is a rare, reflective episode of Bits and Pieces, and aptly, we kick it off with Srinath Sripath mimicking Harsha Bhogle in a rare moment of frank self-reflection.



Find us on Twitter:

1. Bits and Pieces: https://twitter.com/bnp_cricket

2. Max: https://twitter.com/maxdavinci

3. PDP: https://twitter.com/prashantdptweet

4. VaMu: https://twitter.com/varunmurali43

Kookaburras in England, Kiwis in Pakistan ... and Ducks in India. As the IPL moves into mid-season madness, our knowledgeable friends assemble to kill many birds with one stone. We ruminate on Travis Head's special liking for opponents in shades of blue, the strange week in the life of Rishabh Pant, Jos Buttler's remarkable 100 v KKR, and a deep-dive into the unforgettable game between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings which, strangely, we all have forgotten. Will Ajit Agarkar follow the policy of Last In First Out (LIFO) when he picks India's squad for the T20 World Cup? Is Abdul Samad actually the Chennai martial arts mischief-maker Shihan Hussaini? Why bowlers? Answers to these vexing questions here.



We are on X:

1. Max: https://twitter.com/maxdavinci

2. Chops: https://twitter.com/el_chopernos

3. VaMu: https://twitter.com/varunmurali43

4. Iman: https://twitter.com/imanpande

5. Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins

The answer is no, of course, but why let that come in the way of a buzzword filled headline for your podcast episode!



But no, seriously, in Episode 119, we come together and wonder if Bumrah is tough to play because of his PM-like tendencies. We also wonder whether India's T20 World Cup selections will be impacted by the national general election vote-bank politics. Iman is busy simping for Gill, while Tony as expected continues pimping for Sanju. In the company of Bro Tareque who repeats several questions that were answered in last week's episode which he clearly hasn't listened to, and Nitin who even more clearly hasn't been watching the IPL, Australian Adonis Adi tries to bring some cogency to proceedings.

Oh, and please don't miss the voice of Kapil Dev on the matter of Hardik Pandya v Rohit... So what if the said voice came from the throat of Prashant DP.



This podcast has never featured Subramaniam Badrinath. Until now.



Follow us on Twitter:

1. Bits and Pieces: https://twitter.com/bnp_cricket

2. Iman: Nitin: https://twitter.com/imanpande

3. Tony: https://twitter.com/notytony

4. Bro T: https://twitter.com/tarequelaskar

5. Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins

6. Adi: https://twitter.com/adi1112

It's IPL season, so naturally Max, PGK, Varun, and Tony want to start the episode with the team selection for the T20 World Cup. Which Mahabharats characters will make the plane to North America? Also feat: the comedy in Bangladesh and Shreyas Iyer's investment. And finally, some IPL action.



Show notes:

Tony's piece on Sanju which led to them meeting: https://whereisbillwatterson.substack.com/p/the-confounding-clarity-of-sanju

RCB's Contributions to cricket : https://twitter.com/CSKian716/status/1776659162220650949

Murali Kartik's tongue twists: https://twitter.com/elitecynic/status/1727730120020959435



Write to us:

Bits and Pieces on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnp_cricket

Max: https://twitter.com/maxdavinci

PGK: https://twitter.com/peegeekay

Varun: https://twitter.com/varunmurali43

Tony: https://twitter.com/notytony