00:00I'm coming to you live from Dubai and joining us is another legend in Harbhajan Singh.
00:05Harbhajan, firstly, many congratulations to you as well.
00:07What a stunning performance by the Indian team,
00:10the only team that has remained undefeated in this entire tournament
00:14and have now been crowned champion.
00:17My first question to you is that during this tournament,
00:21you had a situation where the Indian captain, Surakumar Yadav,
00:24came and said that, listen, India-Pakistan is no rivalry.
00:27He had said that, today, if India could not go across the line,
00:32that statement would have come and haunted the Indian team.
00:35You are glad that this statement that was made by the Indian team
00:39was not just said in a press conference, they've shown it on the field as well.
00:42Three times you've played Pakistan, all three times you've won here.
00:47Well, I think he made the right statement out there.
00:50You know, there is no competition between India and Pakistan.
00:53India is way above than Pakistan in all aspects, not just in cricket.
00:57So, obviously, if you see the record, you know, the recent record shows that
01:03India have won, you know, almost all the games.
01:08Last 10 games, if you see, India must have won 9 games out of 10,
01:12which goes on to show there is no rivalry.
01:15So, Suria was right, even though, you know, even today was a tough game,
01:18you know, but credit to the boys out there, someone like that who had a very, very calm mind
01:25on his shoulders and he kept going, you know, taking those small, small ticks along the way
01:34and making sure, you know, he's there till the end.
01:37And, you know, this is how you win matches, this is how you win tournament, you know,
01:43goes on to show that how well prepared are the Indian team is, you know, forget about
01:48what Pakistan did in this competition.
01:51But here, it was just the competition between India versus India, you know, how well India can play.
01:58You know, if India played to 60% of their potential, no team would come close to India.
02:06So, today, I think India was slightly on the edge in the first six-over, but, you know,
02:13great to see, you know, youngsters lifting the burden on their shoulder and taking the team through.
02:20So, this is what India is all about, you know, they'll fight till the end
02:24and in the end, they'll become winners.
02:26So, well done, Team India, Tila, Dube and everyone, you know, I think they were all outstanding
02:32and especially Kundi Vyadavis were beautiful.
02:39That was going to be my next question, Harvajan.
02:42It's a tough fight as to who, according to you, is the player of the tournament.
02:46There is, on one hand, there is an Abhishek Sharma
02:49and it's going to be tough for you to answer because, on one hand,
02:51you have an Abhishek Sharma who comes from the same state as you,
02:55has been very consistent with the bat.
02:56But, on the other hand, you have a fellow spinner in Kundi Vyadav
03:00who is the highest six-wicket taker for India,
03:02has been consistent, performed in the final as well with four wickets.
03:06If you had to pick for India, the player of the tournament,
03:09who are you going for and why?
03:10It's going to be a tough one for me as well.
03:13I would love to choose Abhishek and Kuldeep both
03:17because they both have done so well.
03:21But, you know, looking at today's performance,
03:23Kuldeep, I think he has got that edge
03:25in taking 17 wickets or more than that
03:28in one single tournament.
03:30You know, goes on to show that how consistent he was
03:33and how beautifully he bowled even today.
03:37And, you know, he was the difference in the end.
03:40You know, in all the games, whenever he came to bowl,
03:43things changed for India.
03:44So, you know, taking those four wickets today
03:46for 30-odd runs, you know, I think
03:48not a man of the match, if not a man of the match today,
03:51but definitely he's my player of the tournament.
03:58What would you say about the celebrations by Jaspreet Bumrah?
04:02There has been a lot of, you know,
04:04aji-baji, a lot of heated moments
04:06between India, Pakistan in this entire Asia Cup.
04:09Jaspreet Bumrah also joining in.
04:11What would you make of his celebrations today?
04:14Which one, Nikhil?
04:19Which celebration?
04:20I don't know if you saw,
04:21when he picked up the wicket of Haris Rauf,
04:25he gestured with that jet going down sort of action.
04:30Oh, yeah, I've seen that.
04:33I think, you know, it's like, you know,
04:35what Haris Rauf did on the field,
04:40it was, you know, the similar way,
04:43you know, what Jesse is showing him,
04:44you know, this is how we do it.
04:47And getting him out and, of course,
04:50showing his own kind of celebration of whatsoever,
04:53you know, whatever he was doing out there.
04:56So, we have won on both the fields,
04:59on the field of sports.
05:02India have always, always won.
05:04Yes, that's exactly, Arvajan,
05:10what the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
05:12has also put on the social media platform X.
05:15Now, I want you to answer this question as an Indian fan,
05:18not as a former player,
05:20not as a cricketer,
05:22but, you know, you have seen,
05:24you are a World Cup winner yourself,
05:26you've seen India win many tournaments,
05:28even after you retired,
05:29T20 World Cups, Champions Trophy,
05:3250-over World Cups,
05:32you've seen all of that.
05:34Asia Cup is never put in that bracket
05:36as an ICC tournament.
05:38But would you say that this particular win
05:40in Asia Cup is special
05:42because of all the things that happened around it
05:44and that's why, probably,
05:46we are seeing fans across India celebrating as much
05:49because it's a special, special win?
05:52Yeah, whenever you play against Pakistan,
05:54it becomes a special, big game, big occasion.
05:57And, of course, what all happened in the recent past,
06:01obviously, the memories are very, very fresh
06:04and, of course, people are very upset.
06:05We all are upset what has happened there in Pelagam.
06:09And, of course, after that,
06:11you know, everybody was talking about
06:12whether India should be playing cricket with them or not.
06:15And there were different views on that.
06:17But beating them on any field,
06:21it is a great, great satisfaction.
06:23And, of course, you know,
06:26what all happened before that,
06:28you know, it was a very sad moment for all of us.
06:31But now people do feel that
06:32it is kind of, you know,
06:34they feel satisfied, you know,
06:36after Team India winning this Asia Cup.
06:41So, well, it's always going to be a big game against Pakistan.
06:45So, I think, you know,
06:48sentiments were very, very high before this game.
06:52And, you know,
06:53the whole India was praying for India to win.
06:55And I'm so glad that Team India could win it
06:58and dedicate those people who lost their lives
07:02and, of course,
07:04of course, to all the Indian fans as well.
07:10Pakistan aside, Harbhajan,
07:12because, you know, you've beaten Pakistan now
07:14three games in a row in this entire tournament.
07:16Let's take a look at world cricket at the moment.
07:19This team under Surya Kumar Yadav,
07:21I think their record is, if I'm not mistaken,
07:2336 is to 3 or 35 is to 3
07:25since the start of 2024.
07:27They've won 35.
07:28T20 has lost only 3.
07:30That's an enviable record.
07:32Is it fair to say that at the moment,
07:34forget the Asian subcontinent
07:36or the Asian continent,
07:38across the world,
07:39Indian, this Indian T20 team
07:41is probably setting a benchmark,
07:43the best that there is in the world?
07:45Oh, definitely.
07:46I think they have done tremendously well
07:51in South Africa.
07:51They were there.
07:52And I think they played outstanding cricket there.
07:56And beating South Africa and South Africa,
07:57it's not easy.
07:58And this young team actually have it in them.
08:02They're a very talented bunch of guys
08:03and more they will play,
08:05they will learn a lot.
08:06And of course,
08:06I can see the maturity,
08:08you know,
08:08already is there in someone like Tillak,
08:11you know,
08:11this kind of an inning.
08:13You don't get it,
08:14you know,
08:14from a youngster like Tillak.
08:16But you see that
08:17there's a method behind it,
08:19you know,
08:19how he plays his inning,
08:21how he,
08:21you know,
08:22take that inning far.
08:23And I'll definitely say that
08:27this team probably have
08:28have earned that place
08:31right there
08:32up the mark.
08:34In the international cricket,
08:36at the moment,
08:36you know,
08:37our Indian team
08:38is definitely
08:39at the top of the table,
08:42you know.
08:42And if at all,
08:43there are any team
08:44in competition
08:45as Australia or England,
08:46as I mentioned earlier,
08:47or South Africa,
08:48but North Pakistan,
08:49for sure.
08:50I think the difference
08:51is there a lot.
08:57Okay,
08:57on that positive note,
08:59Harbhajan,
08:59thank you so much
09:00for joining us
09:01live on India today,
09:02right after India's victory
09:04here at the Asia Cup.
09:05Thank you so much
09:06for sharing those
09:07deep insights with us
09:08when it comes to
09:09India's performance here
09:10in this tournament
09:11and overall
09:12how this Indian T20 team
09:14has been setting
09:15a new benchmark
09:16internationally.
09:17As Harbhajan Singh said there,
09:19I don't think
09:19you're competing
09:20with any Asian team
09:21at the moment.
09:21At best,
09:22maybe in Australia,
09:23to an extent South Africa,
09:24to an extent England,
09:26but that's about it.
09:28Even against those teams,
09:29India have shown you
09:30as the current
09:31T20 champions
09:32that they are
09:33clearly the best team
09:34in the world.
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