Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (AFP Photo)
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could be a tough batter to stop if he gets a chance in India's playing XI for the five-match T20I series. The series begins on Thursday, and Santner said his team has already worked on plans to deal with the young left-hander.Sooryavanshi has not played regularly for India since being picked for the tour of the UK earlier this year. Regular openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have been doing well, limiting his chances. However, Santner believes the 15-year-old has an important role to play for India, whether in this series or in the future.
New Zealand have plans for Sooryavanshi
Santner said New Zealand have studied Sooryavanshi's aggressive batting, including his performances in the IPL.
The Kiwi captain also pointed out that Indian batters faced short-pitched bowling during the England tour."He (Sooryavanshi) did not play in the last series (against West Indies), but we know how good he is, in IPL. We know other players like Abhishek are doing very well. But he (Sooryavanshi) has a huge part to play for India, whether it's in this series or not, but in future," Santner said at the pre-series press conference on Wednesday.
"If he does get a crack at this series, we've seen what he can do and guys have found it quite hard to stop him. I know in England, they went quite short and hard at a lot of the Indian batters. I think we've seen him in the IPL and how aggressive he can be. So we've got some plans for him if he happens to play."
Santner expects Bhuvneshwar to enjoy New Zealand conditions
Santner also spoke about the return of veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to India's T20I team after an absence of nearly four years.The New Zealand captain expects Bhuvneshwar to be effective in local conditions, especially with the new ball."I think Bhuvi will love these conditions in New Zealand. If there's anything in the wicket, he finds something out of it. On some flat ones in India, he still managed to nip the ball and swing the ball, so I think with the new ball out here, especially, it'll be a challenge (for New Zealand)."In India, it's pretty challenging as a bowler these days. We've seen in the recent series, 250 getting chased down. Who wants to be a bowler, but he (Bhuvneshwar) might like it out here a little bit better."
Santner hopes bowlers will have their say
Santner is hoping the series will give bowlers a chance to dominate, although he warned that conditions could change quickly."I hope so. I think maybe the first game it might be, but it can change pretty quickly. It's very weather dependent. The second game is a used pitch, same pitch we used for first game. It could be a bit flatter."If it nips around, we've got to play accordingly. If it's flat, you've got to play accordingly," said the 34-year-old left-arm spinner.Santner added that Indian batters have enough experience to handle different conditions around the world."If there is a little bit in it, you might have to change a few shots, but they've played on fast, bouncy wickets before. They've played all around the world and done really well. It's going to be a challenge this series and we're looking forward to it," he added.
Santner backs India but expects a challenge
Santner acknowledged India's strength ahead of the series, while pointing out that conditions in New Zealand will be different from those at home."They (India) are a well-gelled team and playing some good cricket. We know the conditions will be a little bit different to what they've had at home. The pitches here will be a little bit bouncy. I guess there's still memories and a lot of this group were at the World Cup.
"And obviously the series beforehand where India beat us 4-1. So again, we know that they're a great team and have done it for a long time."Santner said the conditions could give New Zealand a slight advantage, but both teams will need contributions from their entire squads."We're going around the country, conditions can change. I think both teams are changing a little bit just with the schedule and the quick turnaround. So, it's going to be a full squad effort for both teams to put in some good performances."After the five-match T20I series, India and New Zealand will play a five-match ODI series, followed by two Tests.