Did you know, India and New Zealand are involved in a short series just after the conclusion of World T20? Could the timing have been more inappropriate? Are there any takers for this series? From what I can see or gauge, this series is not taken seriously either by the teams or by the fans. Kohli & Rohit have chosen to skip the tests though Kohli will be back for the 2nd one. Williamson chose to skip the T20 series. A sort of dull and dreary atmosphere is prevailing over this series. Let me try to analyse in The India vs New Zealand series – are there any takers?
The T20 series as I type is completed with India winning all the games. A couple of wins were quite comprehensive. It made fans contemplate what might have been. Setting a target or chasing a target was achieved with relative ease. It is hard to think that this is team is not India’s first choice side with several of the regulars having taken a break. Yet, the effortlessness with which the games were won beggars belief. Perhaps, New Zealand players were not really looking forward to this series. They had lost the finals only 3 days ago before the start of the first T20 and were in no mood to go through the charade of a series. The tour is so condensed that if you blink you will miss it.
Why would Cricket New Zealand accept this?
It really is a wonder how New Zealand cricket board agreed to this schedule. It is onething to play limited overs games alone and quite another to play a test series. Afterall, New Zealand is the defending World Test champions and they deserve to start the defense of that hard won title in better circumstances. The board have left their players vulnerable. Proper first class games were not planned. Remember, New Zealand have not played the longer format after the won the World Test title in June. That is almost 5 months of inactivity for most of their players. As we all know, T20 cricket is not ideal preparation for Tests and that too in the sub-continent where the pitches for T20 and Tests are as different as chalk and cheese.
In an ideal world, this series should not have been played at all. After 3 weeks of intense World Cup action, all the players would have been grateful for much needed rest and would have looked forward to regain their energy. Especially the Indians who are on the road for more than 10 months. Alas, it is not to be. The broadcasters need their pound of flesh and the BCCI obliges the with more games.
Worries for India
Leaving all that aside, what was the gains for India? There were quite a few gains and few worries. The form of Kumar, who is thought to be a limited overs specialist is a real worry. He had been such a brilliant bowler at the top and towards the end for such a long time that his dip in form is proving to be a concern. Bumrah and Kumar have always been reliable and India did not struggle to find bowlers at the death. With Kumar’s struggle, this may have to be revisited.
The other major worry is Surya Yadav. He is exceptionally talented. A late bloomer. There is no question about that but his inability to make the most of the limited chances must worry him. There are far too many players who are ready to replace him. The real concern is that will he go the way of Manish Pandey? If that happens, India would have lost one more fabulous talent.
Gains for India
It is not all alarming for India however. Apart from the wins, there were few bright spots. Venkatesh Iyer, the standout player during the IPL apart from Ruturaj Gaikwad has begun his international career quite well. With runs and wickets, his confidence must have increased. He must start to believe that he belongs at this level. Ofcourse, he did not get to play too many deliveries because of the position he came in in all the games but nonetheless, he has made a decent enough start.
The other gain is the return of Ashwin with his bag of variations. In all the games, Ashwin proved the most difficult bowler to get away. He took crucial wickets in the middle overs and contained the flow of runs. Infact, he stopped New Zealand right in their tracts after they got off to typical flamboyant start. Whether the fact that Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy and as a result of that, did Ashwin was in his usual self will is hard to say. If Ashwin can continue in this fashion, it is only a matter of time he is back in the ODI team too. For now, he is certainly in the running to be the frontline spinner in Australia in about 10 months for the next T20 World Cup.
Perhaps the biggest of the gain for India was the emergence of Harshal Patel. The IPL 2021 Purple cap winner used his slower balls to much effect. With Kumar and Shami not proving to be good in this format of the game, the arrival of Harshal Patel will probably add teeth to the Indian bowling during the final overs. Only thing is that whether his slower deliveries will they have the same bite on the surface on the much faster Australian pitches?
Conclusion of the India vs New Zealand series – are there any takers?
I am not going to write anything about New Zealand because they clearly seemed uninterested. They just went through the motions. Williamson chose to skip the series and will be back for tests.
Nevertheless, this is a series that everyone involved will be happy to get away from. This series could not have been timed so poorly. The Indian players would have really wanted to rest before they embark on the all important South African series where they have never won a test series. As for New Zealand, they would have wanted to go back to their country and dwell on what goes wrong for them whenever they come up against Australia.
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