On this week’s Stumped with Eleanor Oldroyd, Jim Maxwell and Sunil Gupta, we speak to Pakistan’s white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan ahead of the Asia Cup. The 23-year-old says the tournament is ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup in October and claims that his team-mate and captain Babar Azam has now overtaken India legend Virat Kohli as the world’s best batsman across all formats of the game.  Plus the chief executive of Cricket Namibia, Johan Muller tells us about cricket’s development and popularity in Namibia during what has been described as a “golden era” for the country.

Shadab Khan: 'Babar Azam is the best in the world'

The weekly cricket show from BBC Sport in association with ABC and  Akashvani.

Sports

After more than two months, the Indian Premier League comes to a climax this weekend. Alison Mitchell has been speaking to the Lucknow Super Giants Head Coach Justin Langer on what the IPL experience has taught him and whether he would be keen to coach the Indian national team. Alison, Clint Wheeldon and Charu Sharma all discuss the IPL and which team will be celebrating on Sunday. The countdown to the T20 World Cup is fast approaching. Canada will be making their debut. Alison has also spoken to batter Aaron Johnson who grew up in Jamaica before moving to Canada to pursue his dream. Photo: Lucknow Super Giants' coach Justin Langer gestures during the warm up before the start of the Indian Premier League T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants in Bengaluru on April 2, 2024. (Credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Justin Langer: My Indian Premier League experience

Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma are joined by not one, but two, former international cricket captains. England’s Sir Alastair Cook gives us his thoughts on Jimmy Anderson’s decision to retire and reflects on his career. He also shares if he was surprised by the timing of the decision. Plus with a new portrait of Cook being unveiled at the Lord's, he tells us what he really thinks of it. And we hear from former Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof who has announced her retirement from the game. She tells us why she has decided not to take part in the T20 World Cup later this year and also on her experience of balancing motherhood and cricket. Photo: Sir Alastair Cook and James Anderson pose with the Ashes urn as England celebrate winning the ashes after day four of the 5th Test match between England and Australia at The Kia Oval on August 23, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Credit: Getty Images)

Sir Alastair Cook on Jimmy Anderson's future after retirement

Alison Mitchell, Clint Wheeldon and Charu Sharma debate whose responsibility is player welfare? Is it the players themselves, coaches, individual clubs or their countries? This comes after former England captain Joe Root has called the domestic cricket schedule “not fit for purpose”. The Professional Cricketers’ Association has found 81% of players have expressed concerns about the physical toll of the fixture list.  Plus we are joined by Australian born Italian international Ben Manenti. He tells us how he was selected for the team, his dreams to play at a World Cup and the love of playing the sport alongside his brother. And we hear from France cricketer Poppy McGowan on allegations of “ghost matches” and players being banned by the national team for speaking out. She’s calling for the ICC to make their investigation public. France Cricket strongly deny the claims. Photo: Ben Manenti of the Redbacks appeals for lbw not given during the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales at Karen Rolton Oval, on March 14, 2023, in Adelaide, Australia. (Credit: Getty Images)

Meet the Italian International who has never set foot in the country

With all 20 teams heading to the men’s T20 World Cup announcing their provisional squads, Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma debate the surprise selections and noticeable omissions.  We are joined by the Chief Executive of Vanuatu Cricket, Tim Cutler who is currently in Dubai where the women’s team are playing in the ICC T20 Qualifiers. They made history by beating Zimbabwe who are ranked 18 places above them in the ICC rankings. Tim tells us how the women's team are Vanuatu's highest ranked sporting team... even better than their men's national football team! Plus we head to the theatre. We hear from Diane Page who has directed a play called Testmatch which centres around cricket, colonialism and corruption.  Photo: Vanuatu women's team bat against Uganda in a friendly match in Abu Dhabi. (Credit: Vanuatu Cricket Association)

The biggest sporting result in Vanuatu's history

Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma debate who should be India's wicketkeeper for the Men's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and America. India have potentially seven options who could take the gloves. Rishabh Pant is the frontrunner after having a stellar season so far in the Indian Premier League for the Delhi Capitals, but he has not played for India since being involved in a car accident in December 2022, where he injured his knee. Other names to consider are KL Rahul, Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthik. 
 
Plus, we speak to Adelaide Oval Head Curator Damian Hough who has been tasked with creating the pitches that will be used in America at the World Cup including the highly anticipated match between India and Pakistan. He shares his experiences of starting the process in Adelaide and details the plans transporting the pitches 2,000 kilometres from Florida to New York. And after Freddie Flintoff's sons are hitting the headlines in England for their cricketing skills, we look at cricketing families around the world and look at the pressure that brings.  Photo: Adelaide Oval Head Curator Damian Hough (Credit: Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions via Phil Martin)

Shadab Khan: 'Babar Azam is the best in the world'

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