Stand-in skipper Tom Latham admitted that the absence of senior stars like Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Kane Williamson will leave a massive hole for New Zealand in the upcoming ODI series against India. Williamson and Southee have taken rest for the India tour while Boult is playing the ILT20 in the UAE, having opted out of a New Zealand central contract.
The southpaw stated that the trio’s absence will offer an opportunity for other players in the squad to showcase their talent.
“They (Boult, Southee, Williamson) are not in the side and that leaves a massive hole for us. On the other hand, it presents an opportunity for other guys who have been around the squad. Everyone has played international cricket in the squad which is a bonus,” Latham during the pre-match press conference.
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“It is their turn to step up. Lucky we have Lockie Ferguson who has played a lot of cricket in India,” said Ferguson will lead the pace attack in the company of Blair Tickner, Doug Bracewell and Henry Shipley.
Latham also confirmed the unavailability of veteran spinner Ish Sodhi from the opening ODI due to a niggle. He attended the net session but had discomfort while bowling.
“Unfortunately a niggle for Ish. He won’t be available tomorrow but fingers crossed he will be available for the next couple of games,” said Latham.
The Blackcaps are riding high on confidence as they recently registered a memorable 2-1 series win in Pakistan.
Latham suggested that the surfaces in India will be a bit different and better than that of Pakistan and predicted the three-match series to be a competitive one.
“The cricket that we played in Pakistan was really good. Some of them had not toured Pakistan ever and to come up with a series win was really nice. Over here, we will try and adapt to the conditions as much as we can.
“Surfaces in India will potentially be a bit better than what we had in Pakistan. Every time we play India it is a competitive series,” he said.
With the ODI World Cup scheduled in India in October-November, Latham said the series gains a lot of significance.
In the context of the World Cup, Latham added: “This is our last opportunity to play in these conditions before the World Cup which is not too far away. We will just try to take as many learnings as we can from these conditions. Luckily enough most of the guys have played in Indian conditions.”
Latham said they have done their homework against the Indian bowlers, including the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Playing in Pakistan also served their batters well ahead of the India tour.
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The stand-in skipper further said that the experience of New Zealand players in the IPL will help them tackle the Indian spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
“We are lucky we play these guys (India) a lot here or back home. We have been talking to the guys who have played in India whether in the IPL or international games, in terms of trying to read different deliveries. Spin always plays a big part in India.”
Virat Kohli is back to scoring hundreds at will, but Latham said the team has made its plans for the star India batter.
“Virat has been playing some great cricket. Looks like he is hitting the ball well. We need to plan as best as we can like we do our scouting on all those guys. We will try to make it as tough as possible for him (to score runs),” he added.
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