The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast

With India having clinched the recent ODI and T20 series against England and drawn the longest Test series in history, we return to take stock of the tour and assess where India stand before they are swiftly back in action against the West Indies. Our main focus is the white-ball games, beginning with Rishabh Pant's splendid hundred in the third ODI. We discuss whether Pant has any competition remaining for his place after a sterling display at Manchester, explore the structural importance of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to a side preparing for 2023, and run down the main squad building tasks for India leading up to a home World Cup.As for the T20s, we debate the opposing fortunes of Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer in addition to discussing which big hitters will be important to India's chances in Australia. We also chat about the squads for the games in the West Indies and predict how the unit will handle the Virat Kohli question as the World Cup inches closer. Lastly, we discuss a few points of interest from the fifth Test between India and England. This time, our conversation on the episode takes a detour via an explanation of why Bhuvneshwar Kumar is like the Hungarian football team of the 1950s and how South Africa Women are unique among the top sides in the women's game.

With the World Test Champions New Zealand back in action against England, we reconvene to discuss one of the year's biggest series in the longest format. This episode of The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast covers England's victory in the first Test, running down the performances of Jack Leach, Ben Foakes, Ollie Pope, and the openers as the hosts begin a new era under coach Brendon McCullum.As we ponder England's alternatives, we also debate the lacklustre performance of the visitors. Since becoming World Test Champions, New Zealand have lacked a cutting edge - they have failed to win a single series since beginning the defence of their title. We discuss what has gone wrong strategically and in terms of selection - the repeated omission of Neil Wagner being especially baffling - and the coagulation of the Kiwis' bowling attack into something altogether one-dimensional.---------------------------Podcast: The Adelaide reunion special - with Ali Martin | The Final Word - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qYUdFrQAIuaeSg4Pj82f3 Podcast: England Daily - Lord's Day 4 | The Final Word - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3vtedN24aDzGyel3LjMlBb

As IPL 2022 is in its final stages, we return to discuss which of the tournament's leading performers will ride their momentum to a place in the Indian T20 squad for the upcoming series against South Africa and the West Indies. We debate the existing flaws of the India in the shortest format and which players could provide solutions, squad depth, and even a new identity as the team gears up for two important series in a world cup year. With the conditions in Australia in mind, we ask - which of Arshdeep Singh and Khaleel Ahmed is the better left-arm seam option? Is a Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal reunion on the cards? Can Dinesh Karthik make a return to the side? Is Abhishek Sharma the top-six all-rounder India are looking for? Is the time right for Umran Malik or should Avesh Khan be preferred? Ahead of the squad announcement, we deliberate all these questions and more.------------------------------Snehal Pradhan's tweet - https://twitter.com/SnehalPradhan/status/1523254883713187841

On the return of Shorts, we discuss the recent struggles of Virat Kohli and the reactions prompted by his poor form in the 2022 IPL. With rest prescribed by seemingly all voices as a cure, we debate what it means for Kohli to take some time off from the game, the implications it might have for his career, and the future of the Indian Test and white-ball squads. With a T20 World Cup on the horizon and much international cricket to be played before that event, India now have a choice on their hands with respect to the former captain as they gear up to bring home the trophy.In the same vein, we also attempt to explain how the absence of captaincy has put Kohli's career on a clock - vulnerable to the axe without the protective shield of captaincy. The other theme that has dominated the discussion around Kohli recently has been workload management, and we discuss how it might affect his short-term and long-term future in the Indian side.----------------------------------Time to pull the plug on Kohli's T20I career by Sriram Veera - https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/ipl/time-to-pull-the-plug-on-kohlis-t20i-career-7888875/Take a break, Virat Kohli by R Kaushik - https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/take-a-break-virat-kohli-1102328.html

At the (just past) half-way stage of IPL 2022, we return for our mid-season review of the tournament. This time, we pick the player from each side who has most impressed us for a total of ten outstanding performers (plus numerous honourable mentions) in the season so far. With Gujarat and Lucknow enjoying impressive debut campaigns, and Mumbai and Chennai struggling at the bottom of the table, the standings have been turned on their head - and we discuss the performances of Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal, Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav, Krunal Pandya and Arshdeep Singh in the context of a new world order in the IPL. Furthermore, as the unavoidable backdrop to this tournament, we discuss the possibility of India selection for the T20 World Cup for the IPL's most distinguished domestic performers and debate the possible changes to the Indian T20 side over the next eighteen months.Also in the course of this freewheeling discussion, we talk about the limits of the current player retention system as the IPL expands, the ultimate legacy of Josh Hazlewood, the rising stock of Abhishek Sharma, and T Natarajan's finest first-class bowling performance.---------------------------------Joy Bhattacharjya's tweet - https://twitter.com/joybhattacharj/status/1518459973029662722

Ishan's podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/3a1mCsQShLvyKH2qRFHGvq---------------------------For the first time on The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast, we welcome a guest on the show to catch up with the latest happenings in Indian cricket. This time, it's the auction for the 2022 IPL season and we are joined by Ishan Kacker of The Anxious Millennial Cowboy Show to discuss the purchases by the various franchises for the upcoming season. With the addition of two new teams to the party, it promises to be a bumper season and accordingly our post-auction review is split into two parts.In Part 2, we discuss the performances of last season's winners Chennai, a Bangalore side after the reign of Virat Kohli, the most successful franchise Mumbai, 2021's sixth-placed team Punjab, and last season's second-bottom finishers Rajasthan. Debating bench strength, team combinations, and possible strategies for these five teams, we attempt to fashion likely playing XIs and tactics from the squads of these franchises. Can Punjab's strong showing in the auction translate into a playoff place? Are Mumbai the team to watch this season, given their box-office purchases at the auction? Have Rajasthan failed to build a balanced squad? And how can Chennai improve on a title-winning campaign?N.B. Deliberating the latter question transformed The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast, briefly, into the Mitchell Santner fan club.

Ishan's podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/3a1mCsQShLvyKH2qRFHGvq---------------------------For the first time on The Second New Ball Cricket Podcast, we welcome a guest on the show to catch up with the latest happenings in Indian cricket. This time, it's the auction for the 2022 IPL season and we are joined by Ishan Kacker of The Anxious Millennial Cowboy Show to discuss the purchases by the various franchises for the upcoming season. With the addition of two new teams to the party, it promises to be a bumper season and accordingly our post-auction review is split into two parts.In Part 1, we discuss the performances of the two new teams, Lucknow and Gujarat, 2021's underachievers Hyderabad, the most recent table-toppers Delhi, and last season's fourth place team Kolkata. Debating bench strength, team combinations, and possible strategies for these five teams, we attempt to fashion likely playing XIs and tactics from the squads of these franchises. Can Delhi go all the way this time with their new side? How will Hyderabad cope without David Warner? Have Kolkata failed to take their chance to make a fresh start? And are Lucknow and Gujarat strong enough to have memorable debut season?

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.