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#JustSports 81: Ambati Rayudu, IPL, EPL, Kohli and more
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This week’s Just Sports comes to a full package of cricket and football trivia. With the English Premier League and the IPL on, Samar and Rahul just cannot seem to stop talking about anything else!
“Few unusual choices made” by the Indian cricket team that’s been selected for England. Samar says “Ambati Rayudu is a strange choice because it’s just been the IPL, he has performed… you dropped Rahane because he has not performed in the IPL”.
Rahul expresses his skepticism and says, “It’s where he has come back, what I find strange… Having the IPL of his life but he is not in the T20s”. Rahul seems not very happy about Rayudu’s absence from the Indian team. Samar particularly thinks “if it’s a T20 team, players that play well in the IPL should be there”.
Virat Kohli not playing the Afghanistan test series is another bone of contention in the sports world. Rahul feels: “It’s a tough one, you feel bad for Afghanistan” for not playing with the best that the Indian cricket team has to offer. Samar points out his disappointment over Kohli and adds, “He has not performed well in England”.
With the IPL coming closer to its end, Samar remains unsurprised by Mumbai gaining sudden resurgence. He feels CSK and Sunrisers are “pretty much assured in the top four”.
The relegation battles at the English Premier League grounds take the spotlight. Samar says, “Swansea might just get relegated, South Hampton can still go down”. Rahul feels that South Hampton remains “effectively safe”. More conversation on the teams that are being pulled in the relegation battle and “big clubs gown down”. Rahul dwells more on “there is no such thing as ‘safe manager’”.
Samar celebrates the “invincible” FC Barcelona in the Spanish Premier League. Rahul feels, “They’re not particularly a great Barcelona side”. He mentions how the results of this year are a reflection of how poorly the other teams have played, “particularly Real Madrid”. Samar feels, “They’re not the best Barcelona team”. Rahul brushes off their win and adds, “At the end of the day, history is history and it’s a fabulous landmark for Barcelona…. a lot is riding on the world cup”.
Get well soon wishes to Sir Alex Ferguson for a ‘speedy recovery’ mark the end of the agenda for the day. Samar discusses the beauty of football beyond the field while talking about the wishes received by Sir Alex from his team and other football players.
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