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. 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.Gambhir believes that if India manage to deliver results in the ODI series, the bowlers should receive much of the credit rather than the more experienced batting unit. The challenge is particularly significant with India having to balance preparations for the white-ball matches and the two-Test series scheduled towards the end of the tour.“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. Because if you look at it, this will probably be the most inexperienced bowling attack in ODI cricket,” Gambhir said on Sunday.The numbers underline his concern. Siraj, with 51 ODIs, is the most experienced pacer in the group. Arshdeep has played 18, while Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj have one ODI each. Gurnoor Brar has featured in nine.“No one will talk about it. But if you look at it, Aqib Nabi (1 ODI). Anshul Khamboj, one match. Gurnoor, how many? 10 matches (nine). Only Arshdeep is our most experienced bowler (18).“Despite that, if we do well in the one-day series, the credit will go to this bowling attack. It will go to these boys. We have experience in batting. We have a lot of experience in batting.“But when you come overseas, your bowlers win the series, especially in one-day and Test cricket. So if we go ahead and do well in one-day cricket, a lot of credit should be given to these bowlers rather than talking too much about the batters,” he added.
Gambhir’s challenge to Abhishek Sharma
Gambhir also spoke about the improvement Abhishek Sharma showed against New Zealand off-spinner Michael Bracewell during the five-match T20I series. 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.“Obviously, Abhishek has struggled a bit with off-spin. The more he gets better at it, obviously, he will become an overall better player. And you want to keep improving yourself because the opposition keeps studying you.“The way you bat, the way you make runs, the speed with which you bat. So if you improve your game, the different areas, if you improve against different bowlers, you will be one step ahead of the opposition.“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.
Gambhir hails India’s ‘incredible’ T20I series win
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. The hosts claimed the final two games.“Look, first of all, obviously it’s an incredible effort because the boys got only one day to prepare,” Gambhir said after the fifth and final T20I.“They arrived on the 20th (of October), we practiced on the 21st… different conditions, different weather conditions, different dimensions, playing against a quality side like New Zealand in their own backyard with the amount of experience they had in T20 cricket, plus most of the boys were touring New Zealand for the first time.“Boys can be extremely proud of their efforts, especially when you hardly got any time to prepare.”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. He also pointed out that the ODI and Test players would have more time to prepare for their assignments.“If this tour is difficult for anyone, then it’s for the T20 side because our Test team will get time to prepare. Our one-day players will get time to prepare. But these players didn’t have any time. And 70-80% of these players were coming to New Zealand for the first time.“And the weather conditions that we’re playing in and the conditions we’re playing in, there are two extreme conditions. So, I believe that after a practice session, after a 15-hour flight, if guys can deliver that kind of a performance, especially against a quality side, a lot of credit needs to go to this side.“I know a lot of people will not talk about it. But this is an achievement which we should always talk about because these guys were always under pressure and that is what is called ruthlessness. We wanted to win the next two as well, but sometimes things don’t go in your favour as well,” he said.