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Sunday 19 August 2018 16:41, UK
Does the true soul of cricket abide in Mumbai? Nasser Hussain sets out to answer this question in our three-part series...
Press play on the video above to watch episode two in full.
Read Nasser's Cricket in Mumbai interview here.
Twenty20 cricket has exploded in India with the advent of the Indian Premier League and opened up a whole new world of opportunity.
So in the future, will a young Indian player want to play Test cricket like some of the game's greats or does he want to fast-track himself to riches in the shortest format? And what would Sunil Gavaskar advise a young player to do?
Nasser analyses to what extent the IPL has been positive for cricket in Mumbai and visits the Dharavi slum - home to over one million people - to find out if those with very little have any chance of fulfilling their cricketing dreams.
He finds out more about the charity Reality Gives, which aims to help young people fulfil their potential, and comes to this conclusion: "This city is incredible. It is the heart and soul of world cricket."
With almost a third of India's international runs having been scored by batsmen from Mumbai, Nasser finds out what sets players from that part of India apart from their peers.
Sunil Gavaskar explains how the "minimum" requirement for Mumbai batsmen is a century, with current India coach Ravi Shastri saying that tricky conditions on the maidans (open spaces) breed tight and compact players and that it is ingrained in their psyche not to give their wicket away.
Nas also learns more about Vijay Merchant - who set the template for Mumbai batsmen and is described by former CCI president Madhav Apte as "as close to perfection as possible" technically - and tries to work out why Vinod Kambli played only 17 Tests.
Plus, Sachin Tendulkar discusses the traits drilled into him by his coach Ramakant Achrekar, a man he always calls Sir, while Nasser opens a great debate - Tendulkar or Gavaskar?
Nasser takes a stroll through south Mumbai, an area teeming with cricketing history, and visits the Maidans which are teeming with cricket matches - but could their future be under threat?
We also drop in at Bombay Gymkhana, where the first Test in India was played in 1933 against Jardine's England to highlight the contrast between the haves and the have-nots.
Shastri, Tendulkar and Prithvi Shaw share their insights into the commitment and spirit of cricketers in the region, plus Kambli reflects on his mammoth schoolboy partnership with Tendulkar and we hear about Shaw's monumental 546.
Watch all three episodes of 'Cricket in Mumbai' On Demand now.
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