New Zealand men’s cricket head coach Rob Walter has stated that he is looking forward to seeing how the teen batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi performs on the quicker New Zealand surfaces, which offer excessive bounce for seamers.
On Wednesday, September 23, New Zealand Cricket announced its squad for the forthcoming five-match T20I series against India, selecting as many as seven pacers in its 16-man squad, including Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Nathan Smith.
Speaking after the squad announcement, Walter asserted that it would be interesting to watch how the teen batter tackles New Zealand seamers on bouncing and seaming conditions. He went on to add that he would also love to see how his players would perform under a little bit of pressure against Sooryavanshi.
“Yes, I’d love to see him on pacy and bouncy wickets and see how different that looks. But he’s an exciting player. You’ve seen him dominate against the world’s best bowlers in the IPL. I think the challenge is always to see how that translates to different conditions, and also how we bowl to him in our conditions,” Walter said.
“Again, secretly as a coach, you always want to see your players under a little bit of pressure and how we respond to that. So looking forward to it, if that is the case. If he’s not here, they do have a lot of very good players other than him,” he added.
It’s important to note that India last played with New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2026 final earlier this year at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, clinching the title for the second consecutive time.
“I suppose it is there. No one likes to lose a final. I’ve done it twice, so I know all about it. But I think what comes first is representing the Black Caps and New Zealand well. So you’ve got a group of players who are always trying to do that first. Of course, if you manage to get a couple of victories at home, that would be great,” he concluded.
