Coaches Mike Hesson and Craig McMillan organised a three-hour nets session at the Cricket Club of India on Sunday for the nine players of the New Zealand squad who are here. Despite the recent rains having affected grounds all around Mumbai, the visitors’ first training session of the tour, at the Brabourne Stadium, went off without a hitch.
Skipper Kane Willamson and chief coach Hesson spoke to the media after returning to the team hotel.
“It’s always a tough tour, coming to India, as a lot of opposition teams have found in recent times,” said Williamson, who looked back on his team’s performance in the 2016 ODI series here. “To be 2-2 going into that last game a year ago was a good effort. We played some good cricket, but I don’t think it was a complete performance. It was disappointing. It’s nice to be back here again and the guys are looking forward to the tour.”
Williamson touched upon the challenges of an India tour. “The wickets here vary so much within the country. You’re required to adapt from ground to ground. You’re never quite sure of the surface that you’re going to get,” he said. “Being flexible with your approach is very important.”
Factoring in the weather is also part of the adapting process, he said. “It’s nice to be here a few days early and get guys used to the heat and humidity. A number of guys have had experiences here which is always helpful, but we still want to prepare well,” he said.
The Kiwi skipper spoke of how his team was bracing itself to face a lot of slow bowling.
“Naturally, spin in this part of the world is a key factor; one that you know you’re going to come up against in the majority of the overs,” he said. “It will be a tough challenge, but one that our guys are looking forward to.”
Asked about Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, Williamson said: “Their exposure in the IPL has been huge for them in pushing their case to play for India. They both have been very successful. Obviously, their skill sets are very good.”
While Williamson noted that there aren’t too many chinaman bowlers going around, Hesson added: “A number of players have faced Kuldeep during the IPL. Some of them played in the same team, so there’s enough information sharing going on there.
“Wrist spinners also provide scoring opportunities, so we’ve got to make sure that we’re [...] actually playing the ball rather than thinking of them as mystery spinners.”
Williamson also acknowledged the Hardik Pandya factor.
“In the last year or two, he’s been playing outstandingly well. We saw it in the IPL, and even in the series against us, he bowled very well. Now, we’re seeing him come along with the bat and making contributions that any team would be pretty happy to have from their all-rounder,” he said.
“He’s a very vital player for the Indian side in terms of a fast bowling all-rounder.”
On R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja not being part of the squad, Williamson said: “India have been playing so much cricket lately that it’s only natural that certain players are rested certain times. It’s impossible for everyone to play all formats all the time because the schedule is so dense.
“But you always know that the team India will put out will be very strong.”
