Christchurch, Oct 21 New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner conceded that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would be “quite hard to stop” if he plays for India in the five-match T20 International series beginning here on Thursday, but his team has some plans to deal with the young batting sensation.
Sooryavanshi has been used sparingly since being picked for the tour of UK earlier this year, largely because regular openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have done the job quite well. Santner said should the 15-year-old make the playing XI in the series here, some research has been done to figure out his game.
“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 here 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 was also asked about the return of veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the Indian T20I team after a nearly four-year absence. The home skipper said he expects Bhuvneshwar to love the conditions here.
“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 said he is hoping for it to be a contest in which bowlers dominate.
“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.
“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.
After the five-match T20I series, the two teams will face each other in another five-game ODI rubber followed by two Tests.
“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 slightly different conditions may favour his team, but only slightly.
“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.
(PTI News)
