Sleep. Or a lack thereof. That is Indian cricket’s biggest challenge right now. When you hear that, you know that much is going right, even if each day takes a heavy toll. The Indian team landed in New Zealand after flying across continents and seas, and they had one day for a single practice session before the first of five T20Is.
Several players in this squad have never played in New Zealand before. As kids, they likely woke up in the wee hours to watch Indian batsmen struggle against accurate seamers on damp pitches. They would have seen fast and slow bowlers alike having to work out how to counter the blustery winds that sweep across some idiosyncratically shaped open cricket grounds.
Cricket in New Zealand is a treat to watch, especially when the sun is out, and the sky is a shade of blue that matches the pristine waters encircling the tiny islands they call the Land of the Long White Cloud. Playing cricket there, though, isn’t easy, even at the best of times.
Yet Shreyas Iyer, the captain, dripped optimism when asked whether acclimatisation or travel would be the biggest challenge. “Right now, there is no challenge. I am not even thinking about it,” he said, referring to the external factors and not the opposition India will face, because you never take New Zealand lightly.
“We have been playing so much cricket, continuously, from Japan to India, from India to New Zealand ... We are used to it now, in a way. So, this pattern has been set in our system. We are getting less sleep, but the more matches we play, the better it is for us.”
The first two matches are in Christchurch, followed by Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton. The good news for the Indians is that they will not have to endure another long flight. The bad news is that they will be up against a near full-strength home team. In their last two assignments, against South Africa and Bangladesh, New Zealand lost many players to prior commitments in T20 leagues.
What’s more, New Zealand can remind India that they won both the Test (3-0) and the ODI (3-2) series on their last tour of India. In their own backyard, New Zealand will ask a lot of questions of India’s world-beating T20 unit.
India come off a series against West Indies at home where the bowlers had almost no role to play and tall scores were routinely chased down by both teams. It will not be quite so straightforward in New Zealand.
When there is balance between bat and ball, all facets of a team’s game are tested. Early overs become crucial batting or bowling, slow bowlers operate when the quick men have already done damage, and batsmen have to have clear plans on how they expect to set a realistic target or pace a chase.
India have extraordinary batting depth. So much so that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t just “walk into” the playing XI. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are the primary batsmen keeping Sooryavanshi on the bench, and conditions will test the pair in different ways. Each has the game and the experience to adapt, and how they do so will set the tone for the batsmen who follow.
Still settling into the leadership role, Shreyas will use this series to shape the side in the mould he desires. He will also know that there will be more work to do for him as a middle-order batsman than he is accustomed to at home. That is a stretch he will welcome.
The series is a massive one for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who will enjoy the swing on offer, returning to the T20I team after a gap of nearly four years. Circumstances parachuted him into the final T20I against West Indies in Bangalore, but rain finished off that game before it could warm up.
So, instead of a bowlers’ graveyard at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bhuvneshwar will get a chance to enjoy the rewards of plugging away day in and day out, putting in the hard yards without a clear route back to the highest level, in much more desirable conditions . Bhuvneshwar might have had to bide his time, but timing is everything in cricket, and he will know that things have worked out a treat in the end.