New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has applauded Team India for having exact replacements in case of injuries. Stead also stated the magnitude of the challenge before the Kiwis as well. With Mohammed Shami, one of India’s first-choice bowlers of India who has been injured since November 2023, Akash Deep has replaced him well.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the three-match Test series, Stead was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo: “If they have an injury, it doesn’t seem to affect them like other teams. There’s someone else who can come in who is equally adept. They have the mass of numbers they can call but they are also very skillful and are an experienced team with a lot of Test caps. They play a brand of cricket that makes it very difficult for you over here but that’s the challenge that’s ahead of us.”

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With former Test captain Tim Southee known for his struggles over the last 18 months, Gary Stead shared they have been watching his videos of tasting success in India as well.

“From my conversations with Tim, he recognized he hasn’t been at his best but there’s certainly no desire to not get back there. He’s working hard in the background, he’s doing everything he can and trying to rediscover what that little thing he feels is missing. We’ve looked back at quite a bit of video from previous years and times he’s played in India and had success. It’s just trying to rediscover that and find a little bit, I guess you could call it snap back into his action,” he concluded.