World Test Championship: Mr. Cricket UAE Anis Sajan in conversation with Wasim Jaffer

Gulf News

Mr. Cricket UAE in conversation with Wasim Jaffer, former Indian Test opener previewing the World Test Championship Finals against New Zealand and why he feels India has a slight edge over the Kiwis who have been India's Nemesis in ICC games.  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #WorldTestChampionship #cricket

Transcript

00:00Hello all to the beautiful people of this country, as well as all the cricket followers on our page.

00:06Today, we have a guest who has scored leaps and leaps of runs, not only in domestic cricket, as well as for Indian cricket.

00:15He was known as the master of Mumbai cricket, and when he used to play the back foot shot, you couldn't take your eyes off.

00:22Yes, I am talking about one star of Indian cricket, Wasim Jaffer. Welcome to the show, Wasim bhai.

00:30Thank you. Thank you. And it's very nice to be here.

00:33The pleasure is all mine. And the reason we had you on this show, because we vividly remember

00:39your debut series was against England and India's Tour of England starts with the

00:45World Test Championship. So we did not think about anybody else but Wasim.

00:50That's very nice of you and kind of you.

00:52All right. Now, before we, you know, step on to the World Test Championship, the IPL is on

01:02hold till September and I believe you all will be here, you're there as the batting coach for

01:07Punjab Kings. So looking forward to it?

01:11Very much so, very much so. I mean, very happy that cricket is coming back. Since IPL,

01:18the normal public also have been deprived of watching some quality cricket. So it's

01:24good that cricket is coming back with this World Test Championship, plus the India.

01:39GG. Yeah. You can hear me?

01:45I can, I can. Yes.

01:48Okay. All right. So we'll start with the World Test Championship.

01:54It's the biggest platform they say that test cricket as this is the purest form and India

02:01in the finals against the old nemesis, New Zealand. Now, my first question to you,

02:09you've seen India squad, which has been announced. What do you think about the squad?

02:15I think it was expected, you know, more or less, I feel the 12, I personally feel

02:24was pretty much the same, which I feel that, you know, India might more likely than not would go

02:31with five bowlers, plus the six batsmen, but they've got the liberty of the two all round,

02:35the two spinners, 10 bat, they've got test hundreds. And that makes the side very strong.

02:42Especially when both of your spinners can bat, they've got test hundreds.

02:50And you've got batting till the eight. And you know, the kind of form that Yashapant is in,

02:56I think the team selects himself, to be honest, there is only one or maybe at most two,

03:02you know, selection issues that can happen. But I feel that mostly the 11 or 12 pick themselves,

03:09in my opinion. All right, since we're talking about the 12, which you think pick themselves,

03:17could you just run through me? And for all our fans, players, you expect them to be on the park?

03:25I mean, in my opinion, or if you ask me, I would like Rohit Sharma, obviously Rohit Sharma and

03:30Shukman Gill, you know, they should open in my opinion, number three Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya

03:38Rahane, number six should be Rishabh Pant. And then Ravindra Jadeja at seven, Ashwin at number

03:45eight, Bumrah number nine, Shami number 10. And the debate probably that's going on is between

03:54Siraj and Ishaan Sharma. But I would personally would want Ishaan Sharma to play because somebody

04:00who's played 100 test matches, who's been in England before he knows how to bowl in Dukes

04:05with the Dukes ball, he's played county cricket. And that experience counts for a lot, I feel,

04:10you know, somebody who's got 300 plus test wickets. And plus, Ishaan Sharma bowls so well

04:15to the left handers and New Zealand has got quite a few left handers in the top order.

04:19I feel they should go with Ishaan Sharma, even in the in the practice game within the squad,

04:25he's picked up wickets. So I feel they should go ahead with Ishaan Sharma as a third seamer.

04:31That's a very fair point, like you mentioned about the choice. It's a headache for selectors,

04:37whether it should be Siraj or Ishaan. And you rightly mentioned a player who's played 100 test

04:42matches, has the experience of playing so many matches in England, has taken enough wickets and

04:49has an edge over left handers, whereas New Zealand does have quite a few. And Ishaan

04:53Sharma should be the pick ahead of Siraj. Now, do you think India might

05:02see that, no, we will play four seamers and drop probably one of the spinners,

05:05or you see them going with two spinners, even though because they're bad people?

05:10No, I don't think I don't think, you know, you'll only go with four seamers if it's a really green

05:15pitch and it's going to stay like that for the most of the test matches, which I don't think

05:20will happen. I mean, in England, mostly the pitches will spin from later half of the third

05:28day to the fourth and fifth day. And both of your spinners, you know, somebody like Ashwin

05:35has got 400 plus wickets, Jadeja has got more than 200 wickets, and they are so accurate.

05:41You don't want to, you know, tempt yourself to, you know, drop any of them. Three plus two,

05:47I think gives you the right balance. You know, the spinners can hold one end and your seamers

05:52can rest. And knowing Ravi Shastri, knowing Virat Kohli a little bit, I feel they both

05:58are very aggressive, you know, the way they approach to the games, they want to win.

06:03And most of the times we see, they play with five bowlers. And like I said, you know,

06:10you've got that liberty that two of your main spinners can bat. So there's not a problem that

06:16your tail becomes a bit if you play five bowlers. So that's not an issue. So I feel

06:21three plus two looks a very sensible option for me.

06:26Fair point. Now, because New Zealand has been there in England, and has already played two

06:32test matches, does that give them a slight edge ahead of India, who's just come there and just

06:38had some practice matches between themselves? I think so. I think so. It will give them the

06:43edge because they have played the real game. They play test cricket, no matter how much you practice

06:49or, you know, play within the squad, that intensity probably is never going to be there.

06:57When you play a test match, that intensity is totally different. So that gives them a little

07:00bit of edge. But saying that, you know, they've also, you know, tested their bench strength. So,

07:06you know, after the first test match, which was a draw in Lords, they have benched Saudi,

07:14they've benched Jameson, they've benched the other guys. Williamson didn't play up for an injury.

07:21So they've also tested their squad a bit. So, you know, but saying that I feel that New Zealand

07:28have a little bit of edge, but you know, India will be very prepared. I mean, come the day one

07:33of the tests, you know, they're all seasoned campaigners. Everybody has played in England

07:38before. So I think it's going to be a cracking contest. If you had to mark a few New Zealand

07:46batsmen, whom would you be worried about in the batting? And then I'll come to the bowling.

07:54I think I was really impressed with the way Devin Conway has played. I think he was really,

08:01really, you know, fantastic the way he played it. You know, first time he's been to England,

08:05I'm sure he might have played some league cricket or some other cricket, but the way he played in

08:12Lords test match and the edge bus in the second one, I was really, really impressed with his

08:17technique, with his temperament and with his discipline, the way he's constructed his innings.

08:22So I was really impressed. So he's going to be definitely one of them that India need to

08:26dislodge early. Williamson, you can't look beyond Williamson and Ross Tiller. They've got heaps and

08:30heaps of experience, quality players. But I think there is not much, to be honest, I mean,

08:38other than these guys. Obviously, Tom Latham is another one. He's also a very solid player.

08:44But I think these three guys, Ross Tiller, Williamson and Devin Conway, I feel those are

08:48the very important guys in the batting line. And when we come to the bowling.

08:53I think bowling, you know, Trent Boult, Tim Southey and Jameson, I think those are the three

09:02guys I feel, you know, are more likely to play. Neil Wagner might play because he's one of those

09:08guys who does the hard work for them. He's, you know, once, I think he bowls first and second

09:15spell. He's mainly the guy who will come in and bowl, you know, short balls, he'll bowl bouncer

09:21and he'll have that, you know, field placing where he'll tempt you with quite a few short

09:26balls. So he does the dirty work for them most of the times. And he's been quite successful with

09:31that. So it's going to be a little interesting to see whether they go with three fast bowlers plus

09:38Wagner or they go with Ajaz Patel as well as a main spinner. So it's going to be interesting to

09:44see, you know, what kind of attack they employ. But I think Trent Boult and Southey looks very

09:51very sure to play and they are a very seasoned, you know, campaigner, somebody who's played again

09:57a lot of times in England. They played against a lot of Indian players. Last time India played

10:01in New Zealand, they beat them 2-0. And they were the guys who did, you know, most of the damage.

10:07Jameson was another guy who debuted in that series and did really well. So I feel, you know,

10:13those are the threats probably are for the Indian backing line.

10:19Very rightly said, Vasim. Now, you know, playing in England and playing in India is

10:24totally different conditions. You have played in England and been successful.

10:29What advice you would like to give youngsters like Shubman Gill or the players you want to,

10:35you know, to be safeguarding themselves against the moving ball, the Dukes ball?

10:40I think, like I said, you know, the way Devin Conway has played, you know, the kind of discipline

10:46that he showed in constructing an innings, you know, leaving a lot of balls outside the off-stands,

10:51especially in the early part of the innings, especially in the first session. I think that

10:56is going to be very, very vital because scoring runs is never going to be a problem to Shubman

11:01Gill or Rohit Sharma or even Virat Kohli. They can always accelerate. But I think in England,

11:08for you to succeed or to play really well, you need to have that self-discipline at the start

11:13of your innings. When you start to build your innings, you need to leave a lot of balls,

11:18you know, that fifth and sixth-stump balls. You need to be very sure of your off-stump and you

11:23need to play, you know, late. In England pitches, the pitches are not going to scare you with the

11:31bounce and there are not going to be a lot of bounces because the pitch is not going to be like

11:37Australia or maybe South Africa. So the threat would be the lateral movement. So those are the

11:45things that you need to worry, you know, and you need to have that self-discipline of leaving a

11:50lot of balls outside off-stump. And once you do that, once you play out that first hour or maybe

11:56hour and a half, then I think, you know, you're pretty much sure that, you know, you've got a

12:03hang of the conditions. So then you can obviously expand your, you know, the area of shots.

12:10And the other thing is, like you said, the Dukes ball. The Dukes ball never stops swinging. So you

12:15need to be, no matter how much runs you've got against your name, you still need to be very

12:20watchful. So unlike the Kookaburra ball where it's only going to swing for first 25-30 overs,

12:27then there's no worry. But Dukes ball is totally different. It's got a very upright seam and it

12:33keeps swinging throughout the day. The conditions, you know, help the bowlers. It's going to be

12:39overcast unless it's really bright, red-hot day, then it's a different story. But in England,

12:45you've got to expect that it's going to be overcast at some point. So those are the things

12:51actually that the batsman needs to be aware of. And that's why I feel that Devin Conway has

12:57given us a template of how you need to bat or how you need to construct an innings. So the

13:04Shubman Gills or Rohit Sharma. Rohit, even though he's played in England before, but he's played as

13:11a middle order. He's never opened the innings in England. Shubman Gill or even Mayank Aggarwal

13:16never played a test match in England. So that is something, you know, a template they need to

13:22follow at least at the start of the innings. Fair point. Again, Vasim, you were part of the

13:28Indian squad, which won under the captainship of Rahul Dravid. And I remember that test match

13:35when I believe it was Leeds. I'm not sure about the venue. Maybe probably you can correct me.

13:41Where India bowled England out cheaply and then you and Dinesh Karthi gave a good start.

13:46And then England were chasing the game throughout until Michael Vaughan came and scored some runs

13:51in the second innings and Zaheer Khan bowled them out in the second inning. Which venue was that?

13:56That was Trent Bridge. Trent Bridge. Yeah. All right. So, you know, I remember that

14:04game very vividly because on the first day, it was cloudy and we got the best of the conditions

14:09to bowl. Now, imagine India wins the toss and suppose if it's cloudy and you're going in with

14:14two spinners. Generally, when you have two spinners, you hope that your spinners come into the play,

14:19into the fourth innings of the game, which is on the last day or probably on the second last day

14:23at the end, fag end of the day. So, would you still bat first and take the challenge on of

14:29batting first or would you make the opposition, put the opposition in?

14:35I think it all depends on the conditions. I mean, if you think that the conditions

14:41going to stay overcast for a longer period, then obviously you have to think about

14:47bowling first. But if you think that it's going to be a very passing phase and it's going to clear

14:52out in the first hour or maybe after an hour, then you don't mind even batting first because, you know,

14:58generally there is going to be some movement and some help for the fast bowlers, no matter where

15:04you play because the ball is hard, the wicket is fresh, the bowlers are fresh. So, eventually,

15:10at most times, you'll always want to bat first. Unless, you know, the conditions are really in

15:15favor of the bowlers, then you'll have to think twice. So, if the conditions you feel that, you

15:20know, it's going to stay overcast for most part of the day, then you don't mind to bowl first because

15:26you've got three genuine fast bowlers. I mean, that is the reason why I say that playing five

15:31bowlers, having that liberty of having two all-rounders in the team give you that liberty, even

15:36if you are made to bat first, you've got, you know, batting till number eight.

15:43Even if you have to take, you know, the option of bowling first, you've got three genuine fast

15:48bowlers who bowl 140 plus and can exploit the conditions. So, I feel Indian team won't mind

15:53anything, to be honest. Very well said, Wasim. Now, New Zealand somehow has been India's nemesis.

16:03Whether we talk about the 2019 World Cup semi-final, we all thought that we would have a

16:08walk in the park and they stunned us at Manchester. Or in the past also, they've had the better of us,

16:15as you had mentioned in the start of the show, that they even beat us when we went there and

16:20the conditions won't be that different as what is in New Zealand. So, my point here is, I'm sure

16:27Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri must have done their homework against New Zealand. But going into this

16:32test match, if you had to pick one winner, upright winner, would it be India or New Zealand?

16:40I think India looks, I mean, out of the two teams, India do look, you know, a very formidable team,

16:46you know, batting-wise and bowling-wise, you know, and the kind of cricket they played in Australia,

16:52you know, I think the series win against Australia must have, you know, boosted their confidence,

16:58you know, next to nothing, you know, having to go through so many crises in that series

17:08and still coming out trumps and, you know, winning in Melbourne, winning in Brisbane,

17:15drawing that test match in Sydney, you know, everything was against us. But still, I mean,

17:20they have, they got to make, to play the net bowlers in a test match because there were nobody

17:27left to play. All the players were injured. So that shows the quality of the team that,

17:33you know, we possess. Washington Sundar came in and performed, Shahdul Thakur came in and

17:39performed, Natarajan made debut in all three formats in that tour. So that shows, you know,

17:46the quality of the Indian side. And I feel they are more balanced team compared to New Zealand.

17:52But like I said before, you know, when somebody is qualified for a world test championship final,

18:00they work really, really hard for two, two and a half years. So you can't take any teams lightly,

18:07leave alone New Zealand. And New Zealand, like you said, very rightly,

18:10they've always been our nemesis. And they've beaten us. I mean, the last time India beaten

18:15them in the ICC event was way back in 2003. So nothing comes easy as far as beating New Zealand

18:24to the Indian team. So they'll be, you know, won't be taking them lightly at all. Mark my words that,

18:33you know, they will be up against. Like I read an article today in one of the sports page

18:38that they are the good boys whose actions does all the talking. They don't make more noise.

18:43They just do with the actions. Definitely, I think they are, I think they'll always been

18:50the second best team of everyone, you know, everyone likes them, because you don't see them

18:56sledge too much. And they are, I mean, even I've come across them, a lot of them in IPL,

19:02when I've played in RCB, or even while my time with Punjab Kings, they've always been, you know,

19:09one of the nicest guys you can find the New Zealanders. So they're very easy to work along

19:14and to interact with. So that is why probably everyone likes them. And you know, there's no fuss,

19:21you don't see any fuss with any of them. I mean, Williamson is been a great ambassador of the game,

19:28not just for New Zealand, but I feel for everyone. So even Ross Taylor, when I played with him in

19:34RCB, he was one of the best guys that you know, you can interact. So they are, I'm sure,

19:40they are always the second best team of everyone. Very well said again, Vasim, New Zealand,

19:47the second best team of everyone. And we as Indians, we hope we are the team which will

19:53beat New Zealand in this big, big final because everybody says that this is like a World Cup.

20:00And for the first time, this is happening. We are all excited. So are you, Vasim. And so all

20:051.3 billion Indian fans will be cheering Team India. And we hope that we can this time put it

20:11across New Zealand and have a trophy in our cabinet. Definitely, definitely. I feel this

20:17is the biggest, like you said, this is the centerpiece of test cricket that is going to

20:23happen in a couple of days. And, you know, anybody winning it is going to be a number one test site

20:30without a doubt. But in test cricket, you know, the shorter the game, there are more chances of

20:37you upsetting anyone. But the longer the game, the quality of the side, you know, comes to the fore.

20:44So anybody, I mean, to play a really good cricket for over a period of five days are going to decide.

20:51So whoever comes up after that, I feel that they deserve to be number one side in the world.

20:58Well, we've had analysis, rather the pre-match analysis from the great Vasim Jaffer. I've seen

21:04him very fondly playing for India, playing for Mumbai, for whichever Ranji team he's played.

21:10He's scored heaps of runs. Records were meant to be broken, but I'm not sure who's going to break

21:15Vasim Jaffer's record. We'll have to wait and watch. Till then, we hope you've liked the show.

21:21And if you like, please make sure to share and say some good things if you feel that what Vasim

21:26has said has been spot on. Thank you, Vasim Bhai, for all your insight and we look forward to catch

21:31you post-match. Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended