Virat and Rohit have enjoyed batting in NZ, Santner hopes that will change this time
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is well aware of the threat that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma pose ahead of India’s white-ball tour later this year and hopes that the two veteran batsmen will not have the same success they have had in New Zealand in the past.
Kohli and Rohit will return to action when India tour New Zealand for five ODIs and five T20Is in October and November. The teams will also play two Tests during the tour.
“It will be a challenge. They are still very good players as we have seen for a long time; masters of the ODI game. They have liked some New Zealand pitches in the past. Hopefully not this time,” Santner said, according to PTI.
The five-match ODI series will be an important part of both teams’ preparations for the ODI World Cup 2027. New Zealand will also play three ODIs against Sri Lanka at home before traveling to England for the final World Cup warm-up in September next year.
Santner said beating India at home will be the main objective for New Zealand. “We’ve got five against India, three against Sri Lanka at home and then it’s the build-up to the World Cup in England in September 2027, just before the World Cup,” he said.
“But first you want to win the series against India at home, which would be a wonderful thing. Then they’re trying to figure out what the make-up might look like in October next year.”
The two-Test series will give New Zealand another opportunity to test India’s improved red-ball side.
The last Test meeting between the two teams ended with a a historic 3-0 series win for New Zealand in India. This brought an end to India’s unbeaten home run of over 12 years and 18 series.
Santner played a key role in this victory, taking 7/53 and 6/104 in the second Test in Pune.
With India now undergoing a transition in Test cricket, Santner expects the conditions in New Zealand to pose another challenge for some of the newer members of the squad.
“I think what we talked about before is we’re trying to adapt quickly,” he said.
“For the new Indian side, it will probably be the first time some of the players will be playing red-ball cricket in New Zealand, where the pitches will be a bit foreign. They will probably do a bit more than they might do at home.”
However, Santner believes India have enough quality in their bowling attack to compete in New Zealand.
“If you look at their squad, it’s a very well-built squad. You throw Jasprit Bumrah back into the bowling attack, you’ve got Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna with bounce. You’ve got Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar to spin. You’ve probably got a fourth seamer there.”
“It’s shaping up nicely. I think it’s going to be a great series. Traditionally it can work a bit in New Zealand at that time of year,” he said.
Santner expects the conditions to force the Indian batsmen to adapt their approach, especially against the new ball.
“It could be try to fight fire with fire, play your shots. There may be a situation where we have to sit back and let the bowlers relax for a while, try to get the shine off the ball. There’s a lot of that in Test matches in New Zealand.”
Despite the two-Test series being shorter than the white-ball assignments, Santner said playing India remains the main attraction for New Zealand.
“Whenever India come, even if it’s just two Test matches, it’s going to be exciting. Everyone wants to go up against the best in the world and they’re up there.”
New Zealand will travel to Australia for four Tests after the India series, so the upcoming red-ball schedule is an important period for Santner’s side.
“The first thing is ten pretty big white-ball matches against India; two very good sides in ODIs and T20Is. We have to move quickly to the two Test matches,” Santner said.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
07 Sep 2026 18:12 IST