India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir with Arshdeep Singh. (PTI Photo)
NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has identified the inexperienced bowling attack as the biggest challenge facing the visitors in the upcoming five-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning November 4. 10 matches (nine). Only Arshdeep is our most experienced bowler (18). The coach also reflected on India’s 3-2 T20I series victory, praising the team’s ability to overcome limited preparation time and unfamiliar conditions. India had only one training session after arriving in New Zealand before the October 22 opener in Christchurch, but won the first three matches to seal the series. Gambhir said the T20I side faced a particularly difficult challenge, with 70-80 per cent of the players visiting New Zealand for the first time.
Because if you look at it, this will probably be the most inexperienced bowling attack in ODI cricket,” Gambhir said on Sunday. Because the opposition keeps studying you, and you want to keep improving yourself. “So that’s what I was talking about. Because in the first match, when he was bowling off-spin, obviously, he got a little tied up.
It was just a very tactical and technical stuff that we spoke about,” Gambhir said. With Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya unavailable, India will have to depend on a relatively inexperienced group of pacers, led by Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh . “It’s important for me to win every series. It’s not just about winning in New Zealand. It’s challenging to win every series. Anshul Khamboj, one match. Gurnoor, how many? Gambhir also spoke about the improvement Abhishek Sharma showed against New Zealand off-spinner Michael Bracewell during the five-match T20I series. “Obviously, Abhishek has struggled a bit with off-spin. The more he gets better at it, obviously, he will become an overall better player. The hosts claimed the final two games. He also pointed out that the ODI and Test players would have more time to prepare for their assignments.
The India opener had struggled against off-spin earlier in the series but worked on that aspect of his batting during extended net sessions with the head coach, himself a former accomplished player of spin bowling.