New Zealand captain Tom Latham on Tuesday conceded that beating a “well-rounded” India would be an enormous task but said his team is ready to face the challenge over the course of a three-match Test series, beginning here from Wednesday. (More Cricket News)
T♋he presence of a host of experienced batters and bowlers, Latham said, makes India a formidable opponent.
“You obviously look at the spinners when you come over these conditions. But they've got an equally good seam attack♔ in Bumrah, Siraj, Akash Deep, who's played the last couple of Tests against Bangladesh.
"So just a well-rounded side,” Latham said i🅰n the pre-match press meet here on Tuesda💟y.
“From a batting point of view. You have a lot of match wಌinners who can take a game away from you pretty quickly.
“We're looking forwa🌱rd to the challengeꦐ. Hopefully, we can lean back on the experiences that we've had here the last couple of times that we've toured,” he added.
In that context, Latham said the Kiwis will miss the p𓆉resence of former captain Kane Williamson, who has been ruled out of the early part of this tour owing to a groin injury.
“It's disappo🥃inting not to have Kane here. Fingers crossed he'll be ready as soon as possible.
"I think Youngie (Will Young) will play. He'll bat at three. He's batted all over the order. I guess it's his oppor💜tunity to put his hand up.
“Yeah, obviously, disappointing when you miss a senior guy like Kane, but it giv𓃲es opportunities for other guys to put their hand up,” he said.
However, Ben Sears getting ruled out because of a knee injury has opened up a chance for out of form veteran Tim Southee to get a place in the eleven.
“Absolutely. I think last time they played a Test her𓆏e, Tim took 7 for 60. Obviously, Ben Sears has been ruled out, so I guess if we do end up going with the three seamers, then obviously Tim will come right into the equation.”
Lath꧙am admitted that the build-up to this series was not ideal🦄 after a 0-2 series defeat against Sri Lanka, but hoped to carry over the learning from that contest.
“Obviously, results weren't ideal in Sri Lanka. I think that first Test was 🐽a reasonably small margin in terms of the defeat. But we actually ꦚdid a lot of good stuff in that tour.
“And, yeah, I guess you come here to India, it's slightly different conditions. That wicket at Galle didn'ꦛt offer a lot from a bowling point of view,” he noted.
Latham is no stranger to captaincy but being in the hot sꩵeat on a permanent basis from the three-match series against India excites the Canterbury man.
The 32-year-old was handed the skipper’s arm band after Southee stepped down from the r🍸ole after a poor away series📖 against Sri Lanka.
“It's obviously a huge, exciting privilege for me to be in this position. But regardless whether I'm captain or not captain, I'm 🍃trying to perform my role as best as I can.
"That’s not going to b♈e any differ👍ent being captain,” said Latham.
