IND vs NZ: Mitchell Santner name Bhuvneshwar Kumar as big threat for Kiwi batters ahead of the T20I series
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has backed experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the upcoming five-match T20I series, suggesting that 'Bhuvi' could pose a significant threat to any side. Returning to the Indian team after a long four-year hiatus, Bhuvneshwar Kumar could prove to be a trump card for Team India in this T20I series, especially if the conditions offer him even the slightest bit of assistance.
“I think Bhuvi will love these conditions in New Zealand. If there's anything in the wicket, he'll find something out of it. (Even) on some flat ones in India, still manages to nip the ball and swing the ball. So with the new ball out here especially, he'll be a challenge. I mean in India it's pretty challenging as a bowler these days, like we've seen in the recent series (against West Indies), 250 getting chased down - who wants to be a bowler? - but he might like it out here a little better," said Santner.
Furthermore, Santner highlighted the strength of Team India's batting unit—noting that their top three players delivered an outstanding performance in the T20 World Cup final held earlier this year, laying the foundation for their victory. Regarding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Mitchell Santner remarked that he is an excellent batter; the team has devised a specific plan for him, which they intend to execute should he take the field.
"Bhuvi, like you said, brings a lot of experience in the team. That was something we lacked, especially after the IPL we had a lot of new bowlers. If you see Bhuvi's career graph in the last two years, he's won the IPL also so he knows very well how to dominate this format," said Iyer.
Indian T20I captain Shreyas Iyer also acknowledged the value of the experience that Bhuvneshwar Kumar brings to the side. He noted that Bhuvi’s inclusion adds much-needed experience to the pace-bowling unit—an area that has felt a void in recent times. Bhuvneshwar Kumar earned his recall to the national team following stellar performances in the IPL and domestic cricket over the past two years.
"Obviously he (Sooryavanshi) didn't play (in India's last series against West Indies), but I've seen first-hand how good he is (in) the IPL. The power at the top that India have, Sanju and Abhishek have done really well, so I think it's one of those things where we know how good he is, and then the guys who are playing are also doing very well," said Santner.
"I think he has a huge part to play for India, whether it's this series or not, but in the future. If he does get a crack this series, we've seen what he can do, and guys have found it quite hard to stop him. I know England, in the series away, went quite short and hard at a lot of the Indian batters, but I think we've seen in the IPL how aggressive he can be, so we've got some plans for him if he happens to play," he added.
