Warren Brennan, the man behind the Hot Spot technology used in the India England series joins us to talk about his invention, challenges and the controversies surrounding Dravids dismissal in the last test and of course, VVS Laxmans Vaseline non incident. 

The Sports Bench

TSB Cricket: Warren Brennan of Hot Spot Technology Speaks

Arunava joins Nani to talk about the future of Indian football. With tight budgets, Indian clubs find themselves in a fix and with older players being part of the national side, things dont look bright for Indian football at the moment. Discussion on news like Ariel Ortega, the man who was supposed to be the next Maradona, arriving on the Indian club scene. What are the chances of international stars joining Indian clubs? How much will Indian football benefit? And reminiscing a bit on JCT, the club that was. 

TSB Football # 13: Indian Football in a Hurdle Race

Dhiman Sarkar of Hindustan Times joins Arunava and Nani to talk about the growing concern surrounding the Mecca of football in India called West Bengal. Arunava and Dhiman feel that while thousands gather to watch important matches in the state, the authorities who run the show have taken a lot of things for granted. The problem also may lie in the over-blown fan expectations, but both our experts feel that not all is lost in the state which takes pride in being the frontrunner of football. 

TSB Football # 12: What is Wrong with West Bengal Football

Kolkata & Goa share the love for two F words: fish & football. The names that flash across the mind immediately on the mention of football in India are East Bengal & Mohun Bagan (not necessarily in that order). However, the fact is that Goan teams that have ruled the roost & sustained the tag of Indias champions in the last several years. The state seems to attract the best talent, the best coaches, the top goal scorers. In Kolkata, something must be amiss somewhere. We are trying to put a finger on it. In this one we have Mark Rodricks with us as the Goa expert for the Goa side of things. Mark is a FA level 1 licensed coach, plying his trade in Pune. We plan to penetrate into Kolkata football in the next episode. 

TSB Football # 11: Goa Football vs Bengal Football

Arunava joins us from Zurich, the venue for FIFA presidential election. Football lovers from around the world are shocked and concerned after news reports which announced that some FIFA officials received bribes for handing out World Cup bids. In this short podcast, Arunava gives us a ground zero update from the media centre. 

TSB Football # 10 - FIFA is dead. Long Live Football

Horst Wein is a renowned name in field hockey as well as football across continents. It is difficult to finish listening to someone who has experience spread over several decades and geography. And we found Horst Wein to be an absolutely charming man, full of energy and lots of stories. We have tried to capture the essence of his training methods in this podcast. We inquire whether or how his methods are relevant in the Indian scenario and his opinion on the appropriate coach for the Indian national football team. 

TSB Football # 9 - A Conversation with Horst Wein

Finally with the resignation of Bob Houghton as Indian national football team coach, a saga that was increasingly turning distasteful has ended. Discussed are possible replacements and the importance of setting up of or following the system that Houghton set up over the last five years, because India is struggling from the development perspective as well. Meanwhile, the I league is in a very interesting phase and I-League 2nd division has also surprisingly emerged as a fiercely contested competition. This podcast covers a bit on the teams in these two groups. 

TSB Football # 8 - A little bit of Everything

The first ball of the Indian innings in the world cup was put away to the fence and the last ball of the World Cup almost hit the sight screen. Indian Captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni looked unflustered when he played that shot and thats been the story of India in this world cup. Ayaz and Minal talk about this and a lot more. 

TSB Cricket #10: India, the New World Champions

Unlike the 1987 World Cup, three teams from the subcontinent have ensured that this wont be a non Asian finals much like the 1996 World Cup finals. With India beating Australia in the quarters and Pakistan thrashing West Indies by 10 wickets, Sri Lanka pulled off an effortless win against England. New Zealand is the only side which has stormed in for a record sixth time in the semi finals by pulling off the only upset in the knock-out state. In this podcast, we talk about the chances of these teams and of course about the big match in Mohali to be played between India and Pakistan. 

TSB Cricket #9: The Final Four

The best eight teams have advanced to the quarter finals. India take on Australia on Thursday. Minal and Ayaz talk not just about the fortunes of these teams but also about the minnows like Ireland which has made a mark in the cricketing world. However, over time, all good Ireland players are poached by England and Minal probes Ayaz about this trend. Ayaz feels that the world cup has revived the One day format. Out of the eight teams, there is no team which looks like the favourite. New Zealand and Pakistan have made significant progress. Australia does not look half the team that they were in the last world cup. Let the games begin! 

TSB Cricket #8: Let the knock Outs begin

Nani and Arunava are pleasantly surprised that a few kids in Kolkata are running around in football jerseys during the cricket world cup season. In other news, Italy considers an under 21 side in Serie B after an uneventful world cup campaign. The Indian National team is preparing for the AFC Challenge cup in Kuala Lumpur. Nani probes Arunava on the team and the management view on the Indian coach who was accused of rascism. 

TSB Football #7 - A little bit of Everything

If cricket is somewhat of a religion in India, Football in Bengal can perhaps match that hype. In this podcast, among other things, Arunava who is currently in Kolkata on a vacation takes us through his rather rough experience of watching Indian fans in the stadium! Nani and Arunava also talk about Arunavas Doha experience and how prepared is Qutar for hosting the WC 2022. Nani plays the eternal optimist hoping that India can make it to the 2022 Fifa World Cup, but if it does, Arunava reckons that it will be the most supported team considering the vast Indian contingent there. 

TSB Football #6 - The Derby is in town

Nani managed to get a hold of Arunava right before he left for Qatar to cover the upcoming AFC Cup. In this episode, Arunava talks about Indias chances at the AFC cup and how Indians should keep their expectations from its national football team in check. A miracle can always happen, but dont expect a lot. Just participating in this championship means a lot to the team. 

TSB Football #5 - Indias Chances at the AFC Cup

The Round Robin matches are in their last stage. While Group A seems to have sorted themselves out, Group B has made mundane look exciting with England providing the Indian crowds a case study in upsets by losing to Bangladesh and Ireland. South Africa have made it to the quarter finals after beating India in the last over. Minal sympathises with Ashish Nehra but blames our reputed batsmen who in Dhonis words, played for the crowds and not for the country. Pakistan and Australia will clash in this week and hopefully Kamran Akhmal will pouch all catches that come his way. We dont make any grand predictions in this podcast. Thats for the experts. But now the Cup is open. India entered the tournament as favourites, but now the odds are even. 

TSB Cricket #7: It's Anybody's Cup Now...

The World Cup is peaking with Ireland recording the first upset of the tournament by beating England. However, Ayaz is vocal about whether they can sustain this success and that there should be a better way of inducting the minnows in the world cup by having a more rigourous selection process. Ayaz and Minal take us through the bowling strengths of all teams. The surprise package is Shahid Afridi who has already bagged two 5 fors in three matches. Imran Tahir from South Africa made a dream debut for South Africa knocking off three wickets against West Indies. Ayaz places special respect for the young man and Minal wonders when will our spinners get their act together. Minal brings up the Ponting behaviour who accidentally hurt a TV set and Ayaz has an interesting theory on why players should be allowed to do this 

TSB Cricket #6: A World Cup of Upsets?

This podcast will bring you all things from the world of Cricket and Footbal with a special emphasis on news from India. Minal and Nani host a cricket and football show respectively with experts from India. Listen in to stay updated about Sports in India

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The Sports Bench

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