New Zealand veteran spinner Mitchell Santner, who played a crucial role in the recent New Zealand Test tour of India, has warned the Indian Test team, led by Shubman Gill, ahead of their Test tour of New Zealand.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the tour, Santner stated that the Indian team needs to adapt quickly to the conditions to fare well on the tour. Interestingly, India could bag only two Test series wins in New Zealand so far.
“I think what we spoke about before is trying to adapt quickly,” Santner was quoted as saying on PTI.
However, Santner reckoned that the current Indian Test squad has a few new-look players. Nevertheless, he asserted that the Indian team has a very well-rounded squad, adding that it’s going to be a great Test series.
“For a new-look India side, it is probably going to be the first time some players have been playing red-ball (cricket) in New Zealand, where the pitches will be a little bit foreign. They will probably do a bit more than they might do back home.” Santner added.
“If you look at their squad, it is a very well-rounded squad. You throw (Jasprit) Bumrah back into the bowling attack; you have got (Mohammed) Siraj, (Prasidh) Krishna with the bounce. You have got (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Manav) Suthar to bowl spin. You have got probably a fourth seamer in there as well,” he stated.
“It is shaping up nicely. I think it is going to be a great series. Traditionally, it can do a little bit in New Zealand at that time of the year,” Santner said.
“It could be trying to fight fire with fire, playing your shots. There might be times we need to sit back and let the bowlers go for a bit, try to get the shine off the ball. There is a lot that can go on in the Test matches in New Zealand. It is going to be an exciting series and one that we can’t wait for,” he concluded.
