 and welcome to a brand new episode of 420 grams here on newsclick.in. Mr. Pandit is enjoying the lovely October weather in New Delhi as are the rest of us. Leslie Xavier, our sports editor is with me in the studio today for a change. We're talking about of course India versus Bangladesh which happens on October 15th at the YBK in Kolkata. India's in many ways national stadium for the sport of football. We're playing of course for a sport in the 2023 Asian Cup as well as the 2022 World Cup theoretically. India versus Bangladesh first up Leslie you got some news for us and news update. Yeah the thing is that of course we were aware of the injury concern that has hit India after the last practice match that they had against North East United. Sandesh Jinken is out with the ACLT. The point is that the other side also if we have one ACL injury the other side has three ACL injuries three of the key players and one of them being their central defender we just check out the names. Topu Berman central defender their midfielder Atiku Rahman Fahad and their central midfielder Mashukh I love his name Mashukh Mia Jhoni. So all three players these players are out with the ACLT but still the thing is that Bangladesh is a very it's a team which is at a tricky state in their evolution. This is a team which played most of the players played in the Asian games last year so and the three players many of them and most of the players come from two clubs two champion clubs in the penalty that Bangladesh Premier League and their styles revolve around how these clubs play. One of them is Abhami the club which reached FC Cup semi-final last year and they are currently in the FC Cup. So pretty strong football club and so their style of play revolves around a great passing game and apparently high-plus games a game so it won't be an easy game that way for India. India has to be very aware of that and also play with the in their best possible form playing at home. After all they are playing Bengalis in Calcutta. Yeah Bengal versus Bengal and the other Bengal. What do you make of this? I mean of course you guys are experts in ACLT. Yes sir yes sir we are laughing making light of it it's a fairly serious injury and Sandesh will be not at all pleased to be in this situation. I was talking to Ishwak actually a little while ago and he was just saying that like Sandesh will be rejoining the club and will immediately go in for surgery and then see how best to work out his rehab but what would you guys say in terms of how long does this put him out for theoretically at least? Hi first we've noticed Sandesh all four players who are supposed to be part of this game who are out to see ACLs speedy recovery to all of them because yeah these injuries there's a reason they call career threatening injuries and it's called career threatening not because of the you know the impact and career threatening is because after that the actual work of an ACL is not really up until surgery the actual work of an ACL starts post-surgery and after that how long you take to get back to the field. So your question so when I was talking to some cricketers if your rehab and if your proper diet and everything workout schedule is proper you can do it in four to five months but four to five months I heard a cricketer doing it right cricketer football is very different so I think six months have to get to field sir six months I mean to get to field means that in three to four months you start going to the field, you start doing light jogging, you start doing movement, two months later you start doing gym, so six months are not going anywhere but there's one way of looking at an ACL you know and a lot of people say that ACL is setback and ACL means after surgery you get a chance to rebuild yourself and you get a chance to rebuild yourself in a very solid way. So means before injury where you didn't have any problems and it was just a few weeks you can get complete body alignment, you can set it up and if you press for six months you mean training and fitness and whatever you did with the right people and luckily now all these Indian footballers are surrounded with the right people with the right knowledge so it's a way to come back even stronger and I hope Sandesh Jengen manages to do that. But I think the answer to your question is like I think the season is done I don't think he will be back for the for the ISL season. So and also the mental aspect of this is an ACL injury is also very key because it's it's yeah physically you are getting well you balance your I mean whatever shortcomings that you had as far as your muscle composition is concerned and all that but mentally it takes a toll also because you are out of action and then you are also concerned whether your leg can take it anymore. So that confidence because especially Sandesh playing in the role that he plays he has to go 100% for tackles things like that and also ensure that he is matched fit for to play 90 minutes because he's an integral part of the Indian team and for his club team as well. So all these factors where it takes time it takes I mean it takes more than a year so so you will miss the best part of the qualifying campaign you would. This is fine man which is fine by see my point is in an ACL when you see a ACL recurring again. An ACL requires then when you go in before. So which means over the next couple of months AFF, Kerala Blasters and the Indian coach will all have to be on the same page and it's only when all three of them are on the same page and they see that Sandesh is ready to play the 90 minutes then only believe it decided you know that you know that will they be diligent enough for that because the thing is that Sandesh is also an integral part of the team and his presence in the defense makes a huge huge huge impact in the game. So I mean I think now clubs have and at least at Kerala Blasters we know that with the guy like at least involved in the process the head coach of course also a guy like Ishwak who's a high level who's played at the highest level himself. I'm sure they will and because this guy is such a valuable asset kind of identified very much with Kerala Blasters now I suppose in a way similar to what Dhoni is with CSK in the IPL you know there's that connection between Sandesh and the Kerala fans that is pretty well established so I think they'll make sure that he's back in fact probably be more cautious because Sandesh himself has a fairly positive I think attitude towards things so hopefully somebody will give him this interesting thing that you said actually I hope like the guys who are advising him both about his physical recovery as well as the mental part are telling him this. It's also an opportunity to strengthen that also to make sure that when you are there then you're in the best possible situation. If it was 2023 Asian Cup which was coming at your coming your way within the next six months or after six months then you would have still sort of taken a punt saying that Asian Cup is far away I mean 6-7 months away so let's try putting him into play in 4 months 5 months but some Asian Cup is far away and that is your main criteria right from an India point of view and if he's far away then the guy is not 6 months away I say if the doctor says 6 months and he's talking about this experience here it's a very different level if the doctor says 6 months away then it's 8 months away. It's exactly the next ISL season to get back into match action obviously training will start much before and all that stuff yeah so then that makes it like a because we are still 10 days away from the start of the season so next season may makes it a year away from the sport right so that's when I suppose more of the mental element comes into the picture where what is a guy whose only job is to play no that's that's this from my idea the cops are coming to get me because they think I'm too good-looking so probably target a return sometime in feb march which means end of ISL or maybe a super cup or something to try getting some match action but Leslie's right season is over more or less but sort of what you can start playing at the end of the season like the next preseason you're ready you know and you can probably get into the Indian camp setup also play get training there whatever I mean depending on March April June how it goes yeah yeah so wishing these guys all the best for their respective surgeries and rehab of course but this show wasn't supposed to be only talking about ACLs and all so it is I'm sure yeah very personal he's just saying so moving on then what it does is it creates one spot for sure in the starting 11 yeah because a Sandeshka spot fairly guaranteed well I think there are a few players Sunil Chitri of course is there I don't know like they will heavily mark him but I think Udanta can be a very key in this match and I'm gonna put my money on Udanta and Ashik as well I think they will be the key players for India to you know break the tight defense of Bangladesh so Ishwag while we've got you man we were saying earlier when we before when we previewed the entire qualifying sort of schedule round two that one of the targets could be seven points from the first four games so which means a paka expectation of three points from the Bangladesh game I'm sure you agree with that assessment but how do you look at this game playing out in terms of on the ground this won't be easy you know like push-overs they will also play but I think it's all about India how we play it's our home ground stadium will be packed I think this is where we will we have to show that we have improved in football teams like Bangladesh Afghanistan we have to win these matches and we have a great opportunity to play a good football you know like we said like Oman our strong team and Kataris are also very strong they are the current national sorry Asian Cup champion and this is the time we will show our home home crowd you know like and my prediction is gonna be to one to India okay thank you very much and please look after our man Sande share when he gets back to you at the club and all the best for the season opener also so that they're saying to one to India in Kolkata on October 15th I don't see Bangladesh scoring yeah but maybe wishful thinking but I would say India is a distinct advantage there Bangladesh is coming off a defeat against Qatar at home and I feel victory to India yeah I don't want to go too much into the specifics of the score line but just going taking you from what Ishwak said to one I just feel that sums it up as being a tight game I don't think it's a good game easy game it's a little tricky in counter-on because both teams think they can beat the other team okay in the world cup qualifiers there is so much difference that mentality so Bangladesh I think will be ready to take that one point and they'll have no problems sitting back and like Leslie said hitting you on the counter fast fast counters because India if you remember after the Qatar game Renédy had put out a very good point that what you've done versus Qatar and what you've done versus Omar to some extent cannot be replicated versus Bangladesh what to do versus Bangladesh is you have to take the game to them you have to build up the game so that means when you're building up the game and you lose the game or you lose the ball if I may say then you're there are going to be gaps which Bangladesh can plug by quick counters and that is what they're going to be trying to do Oscar Bruzon is their coach he's coached here in India before Oscar Bruzon his coach didn't go up it's Sporting Club no Jamie Day is their coach now so I'm just saying that when India moves forward and they lose the ball which is normal in any game any top team when they're moving forward they lose the ball on a certain number of occasions during a 90-minute gameplay that means you'll be leaving gaps at the back and how you cover up those gaps and how Bangladesh tries to exploit those gaps I think that is where this game is going to be won all lost because Sandesh is a massive blow okay yeah but I don't think sir I'm asking you a defender I am Rahul Bheke and Narendra and Subashy's boss and Adil of course is the first 11 player so who are you? I mean especially given the way Rahul has been playing in the last couple of games his confidence is on the up and he's doing that job just between him and Thapa I think that spot of dropping back to just ahead to cover for cover those gaps they're doing that job yeah so this is a it's a massive test for the whatever whatever part B of India's plan is right next game they did way better I mean like the improvement in the performance was dramatic I mean more discipline wise yeah shape wise discipline wise focus wise in many ways physically also they did well yeah you know in the sense that they never like slipped off and allowed the Katari attackers to get that you know so so given this I think they'll be really keen to get some solid points on the board and and get a thumping win at home so I really feel like and especially what we're hearing I mean I let's be honest none of us are really watching Bangladesh domestic football at all so we really can't comment but just from what we're hearing from people that have experienced or played that there was a sports star report which said that these clubs like to play on the ground the same way as I guess champion clubs all over the world are playing right attractive football in order to make your fans happy and stuff like that so I'm sure that like you're saying some who did he say was the coach but someone who sounded like he had some Spanish influence so from that sort of philosophy yeah so they keep the ball on the ground they like to pass the ball hold possession play pretty football so if if they play that sort of game I think probably they'll find that India a few steps ahead in that year yeah but sir they might see that's what I'm trying to say Abahani when they play in Bangladesh they're a champion team a massive team in Bangladesh so the teams as it is before a whistle is blown they know that this is the big team these are the big boys so mentality is like that when you're going to face them and likewise when you're wearing Abahani jersey and you're taking on anyone else you're like less I am from this team having said that now when these boys come together for Bangladesh and they're playing on versus India that is done what they've done versus Qatar that is done what they did at the Asian Cup as well I think mentality will be the main thing so he's going to put your any outside and he's going to make a three-man between and Seher is another like vital because I like I would really like to see them playing through the middle in this game I don't know also because I don't feel like we have that striker you know you don't have like a like an out and out number nine who is like in the box for either Changte or Ashik or from the other side Udanta when he puts a cross in sorry Udanta but but but I would like to see how they work out playing through the middle a little bit against teams that might not be able to read the game so well and give them that space so for me I really want to see Seher start this game and play as much as he can if he's not I mean depending on his fitness level obviously and we don't have those minute to minute updates but yeah that should be of interesting one to watch should make for a good spectacle as well I mean from a viewing point of view Salt Lake it's on a Sunday Sunday 15th Tuesday Tuesday okay I'm way off man but Tuesday but I'm rest assured people are going to come in big numbers and it won't be a walkover from any stretch of the imagination man it's going to be a tight tight game I think because you know you're so close by so you want to you know sort of and he's saying it's a young team a young team is always charged to you know yeah yeah so that's the thing like like you also saying that Bangladesh will also probably look at getting something out of this game you know they're also not a point yeah for sure so I mean I don't know how I like many years of doing this but I've never figured out really how you can play for a point the theoretically you never play for a game you never say in a changing room you okay boys one point you never do that but that's what I'm saying so if Bangladesh go in looking for one point I think they'll definitely lose if they go in thinking that okay maybe we can get three out of this game maybe we can surprise India the way India surprised some other teams then we should have a then we might have a bit more of a contest going on so yeah by looking for a point is generally basically uh it's it's if you maintain your 10 11 behind the ball and I guess I want to do a little bit of gaps milling you go you'll bounce on those guys say I'm Joe I'm Nick Joe I'm Nick Qatar key Khilaf kia dana exactly what you think you have would have to play drastically different game than what they are very comfortable and happy about right if they have to control the tempo of the game they have to build me because I I also feel like I assume that Bangladesh is gonna are gonna sit back they will look and see how India is taking the game because India again at the in the first half against all teams that they have played off late they they they start really well they they have a lot of energy second half they generally fade so I would think I would like to believe that steam arch would try to score goals in the first half so that means Bangladesh will sit back and see so that kind of a game control and building a tempo and controlling the game let's see how our players do I because I feel that they would be a little uncomfortable over that that aspect I just I'm going to put you guys on the spot so there are four midfield names that I'm going to take for the three-man midfield in the middle that is there is Dapa there's Sahel there's Brandon Fernandez and there's Rowlin and also let's not forget Rainier Fernandez yeah Rainier Fernandez and a good Kings Cup remember when he started off with steam arch in the second half and he came in he gave a good account of himself to who your three-man between me and Sahel Rowlin Dapa yeah for me like these guys are I know a lot people are chatting a lot about Amarjit and with for good reason he's done extremely well he works extremely hard but but just for this game I would say like these are the three guys if they are in decent enough shape then I would start with my best three and and so you have these two that are essentially covering for each other Dapa Dapa does the box-to-box stuff pretty well he's a box-to-box player no no not Sahel not Sahel I'm talking about Dapa and Borges and Rowlin Borges yeah so Rowlin is more of a sit-back sit-back guy Dapa does the box-to-box stuff which I think is extremely valuable and no one else in this team is doing it and Sahel is the more sort of flair player who finds space, keeps the ball, makes space to overlap your wingers to overlap so with these three and on the left if Ashik is okay then Ashik should start on the right of course Udanta I think in the first half there are three goals bam bam bam yeah after hearing the theories I feel that I should take back the tunile and add some more goals to it but yeah Sahel will have a role to play in that kind of a setup where you are looking for goals and you are looking to control the game because he can control the midfield but yeah and plus Ajogo solid take is a big ground yeah so you get ample amount of space on the ball to add to run yeah and also you get more time on the ball probably a second more you get a second or a half more on the ball because it's a big ground yeah I just feel Brandon uh yeah I agree you're my three would also be Raul and Thapa and uh Sahel and Brandon would be your and Brandon and Chanke would be your X factors coming off the bench you know and that third change you change keep yeah for sure but like again if Chetri is fit I don't see him not playing the full 90 so that I mean leaves Manveer at best as a you know coming on for one of the wingers if they get tired uh sorry yeah I know but I mean that unfortunately otherwise that's the role that he has in the team man like he either you or maybe he'll do something completely different and play like a 4-4-2 who knows and for what it's worth I mean we've been speaking positively about the national team's development over the past six months but we haven't had like a good solid win to enjoy you know I think yeah yeah since then anything value like something to celebrate we we came very close to celebrating Oman we celebrated Qatar but again it's like a half celebration no like you said earlier playing and playing for a point yeah so I actually want to see because if you notice one thing that's been a constant under steam match is that the team has conceded a lot of goals and for a large part of us in your we've been saying he's trying new players so he's trying a new combination so you know go uh but I honestly want to see now in a game where you're going to take the game to the opposition so you're going to keep the ball you're going to open up caps then how does your defense you know come up and you know perform on that given day can you keep a clean sheet in such performances that is what I really want to see I think that will be crucial for this team and if they do that'll be a step forward man I'll be a step forward I mean I sure I can see a goal happening like you said you don't see Bangladesh scoring I think only because I can well imagine that a new again an unsettled defensive setup will might make a mistake uh there may be some poor communication maybe I don't know they're prepared for it they know Sandesh is not going to play so they'll work on those things but so I wouldn't be surprised if Bangladesh get a goal but I think our attitude will be the same I think I I hope at least that's the outlook which with with which we're going into it because we want to see India get some goals man like end of the day football nd why do we look at you I mean okay defensive tactical it's good to see but goals to score goals to see the most that that's where it's at no I agree with you but like for the vast majority of the 65,000 people that will come to the YBK that may or may not be the case I mean a pass resulting in a goal is like even better no in my head that's counted already as a point it doesn't matter what the guy at the other end does with it no because it's good talking points and hitting hitting a good pass like a perfectly weighted pass is like I mean it's the there's nothing more fun in football man for a defender without taking out the player through the body and just through the leg so that's what I found found this interesting because he's a defender and he's talking about passing and not tackling you're saying first half you're saying three scored what's your full yeah I go with five one I am hoping for five one three for Sunil and I said to me like I have to stick to that now otherwise I'll look bad I'm sticking to three one and to all the people watching here right done by anyone if it's a five one and if you say five one we'll bring you in in fact to the show okay that's it for us today we'll catch you guys on October 15th while the game is on we'll be doing a live vlog Mr. Leslie Xavier will be at the helm of those operations and we'll be back on the 16th with a roundup of that game hopefully some of the things we talked about today we have made sense and we'll play out and yeah thanks for watching