Cricket with an Accent Podcast · Saqib Ali

Pradeep Magazine on Cricket Reporting, Captaincy and Administration

·1 hr 30 min·5 clips

Magazine argues Ganguly became captain by default after match-fixing fallout, with Dalmia's Bengal power deciding the choice.

Saqib opens by saying this is a conversation he has wanted to have for some time. He welcomes Pradeep Magazine with real admiration and treats him as a senior voice who has kept the cricket conversation honest over the years. The exchange starts with a shared respect for disagreement, then settles into cricket history and the politics around it. Pradeep talks about how captaincy in India has often been shaped by circumstance as much as merit. He reflects on the pressure around Tendulkar after India lost in Australia and the wider board dynamics at work. The conversation then turns to how Azhar, Kapil, and other names fit into the shifting logic of selection and leadership. Pradeep links those moments to the larger structure of the Indian board and the influence of powerful figures like Dalmia. He describes Ganguly’s appointment as something that came by default, but not without shrewdness. In his view, Ganguly understood that acceptance as captain would depend on team performance. He also knew he had stronger, more widely accepted players around him. The talk pauses over that idea of leadership as the management of egos. Pradeep contrasts it with earlier captaincy tensions involving Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. He argues that many of those disputes were never just about effort or form. They were tied up with ego, region, and status. The conversation also touches the old north and west lobby divide in Indian cricket. Pradeep explains how a young captain from the north could be treated as uncouth or not fit to lead. He notes Bishan as an exception because of his English cricket background and fluency in English. Saqib stays present as a patient interviewer, letting the answers run and then circling back with follow-ups. The final stretch turns lighter, with golf, food, and a warm goodbye. The episode ends with a promise to meet again and maybe come back to coaches in a future conversation.

As heard by us

A patient cricket conversation about reporting, power, and leadership politics.

Pradeep Magazine is framed as a senior cricket writer, and the discussion stays focused on cricket writing, board politics, captaincy, ambition, ego, and how trust is earned in Indian cricket.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how a long cricket conversation turns to Indian captaincy, board politics, and the pressures around leadership.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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