It’s been IPL’s worst week off the field. And things aren’t looking great on it either.

Riyan Parag caught vaping an illegal substance in the dressing room — fined just 25% of his match fee. Dead pitches turning bowlers into sidekicks. Delhi

Capitals scoring 264 then bowled out for 75. And Abhishek Porel — a 150 strike rate player — warming the bench while KL Rahul keeps wickets.

Ronald Chettiar joins us for IPL’s most uncomfortable episode yet. And the concerns go beyond the IPL itself — all the way to India’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

In this episode we cover:

😤 Riyan Parag vaping scandal — 25% fine for an ILLEGAL substance, what a joke

🏛️ IPL governance crisis — no commissioner, no technical director, cutting corners

📺 Lalit Modi was right — ICC panel umpires, IMG operations, no cost cutting on a Ferrari

❌ Abhishek Porel benched for KL Rahul — the most criminal tactical error of the season

🧤 Poor fielding — the real reason explained (it’s not the players’ fault)

🏆 Top 4 update — Rajasthan, Punjab, RCB and Sunrisers looking good

🤔 Will IPL be a feeder system for India’s T20 team? The honest answer

What is the real secret behind IPL's greatest franchises?

It's not the superstars. It's not the auction budget. It's the COACH-CAPTAIN COMBINATION.

Ronald Chettiar joins us for one of the most research-backed IPL episodes we've done, a deep dive into the coach-captain combos that built CSK, Mumbai Indians and RCB into legacy teams. And what needs to change for each of them now.

Mumbai Indians have lost 5 of 7. Akash Ambani left the stadium halfway. Bumrah has 2 wickets in 7 matches. And Hardik Pandya's captaincy is going nowhere.

But wait — was bringing Hardik in and removing Rohit actually the right call?Ronald Chettiar joins us for the most honest mid-season IPL breakdown yet — and the ideas he puts forward are genuinely radical.

In this episode we cover: Mumbai Indians in crisis — Akash Ambani leaves, 5 losses in 7 matches

🤔 Was removing Rohit Sharma as captain actually a mistake?💪 Hardik Pandya — 70% win rate at Gujarat, the 100 crore transfer fee story

👑 Virat Kohli at 37 — mental grit, awareness & why he's still different

⚡ RCB — Andy Flower, Patidar and why they're challenging Punjab Kings now

🌟 Shreyas Iyer India captaincy — why Punjab Kings will be VERY nervous

📺 Who should replace Hardik at Mumbai Indians — the options analyzed

🎬 Dhoni = Rajnikanth analogy — the most entertaining comparison of the season 😂

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Two IPL teams sold for record billions. Media rights facing a $1.75 billion loss. And the bold suggestion that BCCI should broadcast cricket itself.

Roland Landers — one of India's most respected sports business minds — is back on Inner Athlete for the most comprehensive Indian sports business conversation we've had.

Match fixing murmurs. Mumbai Indians in freefall. KKR almost out. And Lalit Modi making more sense than anyone in Indian cricket administration.

Sameer Pai is back for another unfiltered IPL mid-season deep dive — and this one pulls absolutely no punches.

Behind every great Indian cricketer is a story that starts on the Mumbai Maidan.

Today on Inner Athlete, we sit down with Toz Rizvi — sports journalist, cricketer, Mumbai cricket chronicler and the man who covered every great batting record from the Mumbai school circuit. 23 years in sports journalism. A passionate voice for grassroot cricket like no other.

Over two weeks of IPL 2026 action done. Time for the most honest mid-season breakdown you'll find anywhere.

Sameer Pai joins us for a deep, unfiltered dive into everything that's happened — the stunning performances, the struggling franchises, the emerging stars and the big calls that coaches and franchises are getting wrong.

"I'm not asking you to sell me a McDonald's burger while I'm watching the game. Sell me a decent glass of water."K Shriniwas Rao is back on Inner Athlete and this time he holds absolutely nothing back.

One of India's most respected cricket journalists and sports business minds delivers his most comprehensive assessment yet of where Indian cricket, IPL and the BCCI are getting it fundamentally wrong.In this episode we cover:🏏 BCCI is back to square one — the brutal honest assessment🎯 The auction vs draft debate — KSR's definitive take📊 The bucketing of cricket rights — tests, ODIs and T20s sold separately🌍 Why bilateral cricket will take a massive jolt🏆 Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings — the ownership model debate👩 Preity Zinta — the most clued-in franchise owner in IPL🎭 Going to Imran Khan's house in Lahore, spending time with Shane Warne & sitting with Viv Richards🏏 Syed Mushtaq Ali as IPL's feeder system — the blueprint📖 The Time Shield opportunity — Mumbai's forgotten cricket treasure🔔

Sports journalism is undergoing a massive shift.

Traditional media is losing control of the narrative.
Social media creators and independent voices are filling the gap.

The question is no longer who has access,
but who tells the best story.

What is the real X factor behind IPL's explosive growth? Why are teams losing 650 crores a year, and still buying in? And is Mumbai Indians really as invincible as everyone thinks?

In this episode, Sameer Pai joins us for the most comprehensive IPL business and analysis breakdown you'll find anywhere — going deep on the numbers, the history, the franchises and the future.