The Duleep Trophy is back in a zonal format — but is the tournament still the best way to identify and develop India's top long-format cricketers?

In this episode, we question the fundamental structure of the Duleep Trophy and explore a radical idea:

What if IPL franchises entered long-format domestic cricket?

The IPL has transformed T20 cricket through franchise ownership, investment, branding, analytics, coaching and professional team management. Could that same ecosystem be used to reinvent India's premier domestic long-format tournament?

India's 79th Independence Day. 80th year of independence.

And what a sporting journey it has been.

From beating our colonial masters 4-0 in hockey at Wembley in 1948 — to Manu Bhaker winning TWO medals at a single Olympics in Paris 2024 — India's sporting story is one of the greatest narratives in world sport.

In this special Independence Day episode on Inner Athlete — we take you through every great moment, every great miss and every trend that tells you why Indian sport has never looked more promising than it does right now.

To understand the health of Indian cricket — you need to understand Mumbai cricket.

Tushar Dawang — the man behind the wildly popular TD Show, Mumbai's most dedicated chronicler of cricket stories — joins Inner Athlete for one of the most nostalgic, fascinating and commercially insightful cricket conversations we have done.

From the origins of tennis ball cricket as a nursery for greats like Chandrakant Pandit and Sachin Tendulkar, to the economics of the format today, to Mumbai's legacy clubs and their untapped commercial potential — this episode covers it all.

You asked. We answered.

Inner Athlete's first AMA - with producer Jayashree Kumar filling in for Ronald Chetiyar who's on holiday. And it turned out to be one of our most radical episodes yet.

From why futsal is India's football answer, to why The Hundred is a genuine threat to IPL, to whether bowlers should be allowed to chuck in tennis ball cricket — this episode covers it all.

IPL media rights — $6 billion per cycle.

ICC media rights — $3.8 billion per cycle.

Of that $3.8 billion? India contributes $3 billion alone.

UK — the country where cricket was born — contributes just $260 million.

Australia — $200 million.

And ICC has conducted 14 major international tournaments in one four-year cycle — all funded by India.

At Inner Athlete — we firmly believe 2026 is a watershed moment for world cricket. And today we lay out the full picture.

In America — sport is treated as almost as important as school.

Coaches identify talent at six years old. Cross-training prevents injuries. College sports generates millions in broadcast revenue. The highest-paid employee at Louisiana State University is the football coach. And now — college athletes can even make money through endorsements.

India? Our best cricketers stop going to college at 17. The Roentgen Baria university cricket tournament barely has players. And the skills gap between single-sport specialists and all-round athletes is growing.

Neha Vaingankar — Indian American athlete, soccer and Ultimate Frisbee player, Columbia University graduate, Deloitte alumna — joins us for a fascinating conversation about sport, education and what India can learn from the American model.

India came 4th at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in football.

Today — the ISL media rights are worth just 9.6 crores. Down from 275 crores a year.

And yet — when Messi came to India, we were ready to spend 100 crores on a single event.

This is the paradox of Indian football.

But at Inner Athlete — we believe India can play a FIFA World Cup in three years. Not in the 11-a-side format. In FUTSAL.

You've thrown a frisbee on the beach. You've seen it in parks. You probably thought it was just a casual toy.

But Ultimate Frisbee is a World Cup sport. A professional league sport. A sport where India just broke into the top 20 globally — after beating Germany, Australia and the bronze medallists at the World Beach Championship.

Neha Vaingankar — Indian American, two-time India World Cup representative, professional Ultimate player in the US, analyst and announcer for the San Diego Super Bloom — joins Inner Athlete to introduce this sport to India properly.

And yes — she is the host's niece. 😂

Two cricket stories that defined generations of Indian fans.

The 1991-92 Mumbai vs Haryana Ranji Trophy Final — decided by just two runs, featuring young Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajay Jadeja and Amol Muzumdar (as a ball boy) — is perhaps the greatest Ranji Trophy final ever played.

The 1986 Sharjah last-ball six by Javed Miandad off Chetan Sharma — which left a psychological scar on Indian cricket for years.

Akshay Sawai — senior sports journalist — is back on Inner Athlete to bring these moments to life. With personal anecdotes, insider details and the kind of storytelling that only a veteran journalist can provide.

Four minutes. Two goals. Two sides of the same man.

Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal against England, four minutes apart - was the sinner and the saint. The cheeky hand of God. And then the greatest goal ever scored in World Cup history.

And then 1995. A fractured nation emerging from apartheid. A president who had spent 27 years in jail and came out without vengeance. And a rugby World Cup that may have saved South Africa from civil war.

Akshay Sawai senior sports journalist, former Wisden Almanack writer joins us for the most emotionally powerful Inner Athlete episode we have done.