New Zealand head coach Gary Stead, ahead of the 1st Test of the two-match series against India at Green Park in Kanpur, lauded India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, calling them”world-class” and also talked about how the Kiwi batters have the potential to tackle them.
In a press conference, the Kiwi head coach asserted that in order to succeed in such conditions, NZ batters will need to adapt quickly. India and New Zealand will lock horns in the two-match Test series which gets underway from Thursday.
As per the quotes in ANI, in a virtual press conference, Gary Stead said, “I think whenever you come here and face the likes of Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar Patel, who are world-class spinners in this environment as well. For us it’s about being able to adapt quickly to what the surface is telling us and what is right in front of us.”
ALSO READ: Cheteshwar Pujara Feels Ajinkya Rahane Is A Knock Away From Getting His Rhythm
New Zealand head coach also added, “Sometimes when you start the match, it may not be spinning too much but it does come later on. So having multiple ideas or ways to challenge the bowlers back will be something that will be important to our group.”
Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme will be the Test series due to bio-secure bubbles fatigue. The New Zealand coach said Boult wanted to get “mentally refreshed” after spending quite an amount of time in bio-bubble.
Talking about the same, Gary Stead said, “Trent Boult has been a fine bowler for New Zealand for a long long period of time but we made the decision that the best thing for him was to get home in order to be mentally refreshed. I also know India is doing a similar thing with some of their players as well. And I think that’s the sign of the COVID world that we live in. It’s not New Zealand who will miss Boult but I think India will also miss some of their players.”
ALSO READ: Suryakumar Yadav To Replace KL Rahul In The India Test Squad
New Zealand head coach also informed that all the Kiwis players are available for selection for the first Test which is scheduled to be commencing on Thursday.
