Happy new year to all listeners and welcome to the third season of The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast! As India return home empty-handed from South Africa - defeated by the Proteas in both the Test and the ODI series - we return to take stock of the tour and, with Virat Kohli relinquising the Test captaincy, discuss what lies ahead for Indian cricket with two World Cups in the near future. Rishabh Pant dominates the early part of our conversation, as we discuss whether his magnificent hundred at Cape Town and the potential ouster of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane from the Test side clears the way for Pant to claim the number five position - and perhaps even the captaincy.
With India set to play at home in the immediate future, we debate what a refreshed Indian side might look like and where the current injury absences - among them, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Shubman Gill - fit into a first-choice XI. Additionally, we discuss the DRS drama that erupted in the last Test and South Africa's wonderful performances that made them deserved winners - and have us excited for their upcoming assignments against New Zealand and England.
With the announcement of the white-ball squads for home games against the West Indies, we discuss the lessons for India from the ODI whitewash to South Africa and areas for improvement against the Windies as the countdown to the 2023 World Cup begins. Should Ravi Bishnoi be included in the XI straight away? Does Deepak Chahar warrant a long run in the ODI side? Which players can India expect to count on as quality depth going forward?
To wrap up this show, we discuss India Women's World Cup squad - and what the exclusion of Shikha Pandey, Punam Raut, and Jemimah Rodrigues means for the flagship event - and the rising stars of India's ongoing U19 World Cup campaign - and if any of them might be heading for a senior international debut soon.
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