Schedule is hectic, admitted by New Zealand team coach.

Analysis Knight Rider

Schedule is hectic, admitted by New Zealand team coach.

Schedule is hectic, admitted by New Zealand team coach.
Just three days after their loss in the T20 World Cup final to Australia in Dubai, New Zealand will play India in the opener of a three-match T20I series in Jaipur. After that, New Zealand will play two matches in Kanpur and Mumbai to begin their World Test Championship defence. The team's coach, Gary Stead, described the schedule as difficult and "challenging," but there is no way around it.

Test players who are not in the T20I team have already arrived in India. While in India, the New Zealand support team will have to balance training the Test players in the morning and the T20I group in the evening.

Stead said this is the first time in his memory that they've jumped right into another series after the T20 World Cup. The coach added that they've already sent nine to ten players to India to prepare for the Test matches, and hopefully, they'll be able to put in a strong showing against them.

In recent times, some of the Kiwis have had an especially busy period in bio-bubbles of varied elasticities. Ten members of New Zealand's T20 World Cup squad also played in the IPL; others, including Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham, had previously played in the Hundred. Phillips also played for the Barbados Royals in the CPL 2021.

Furthermore, Martin Guptill, Mark Chapman, and Ish Sodhi had spent time in the UAE bubble after New Zealand abruptly canceled their visit to Pakistan in September, due to safety reasons.

New Zealand will also have to decide whether or not to play regular skipper Kane Williamson, who has been dealing with an elbow ailment that flared up during the T20 World Cup warm-ups.

Nonetheless, Lockie Ferguson's come back to duty on the India tour is looking promising. Ferguson had been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a calf injury suffered just hours before New Zealand's first match against Pakistan in Sharjah. He is seen playing and practising on the field in the UAE under training with his physio, Tommy Simsek.

Stead commented that they'll simply make sure they get there, travel safely, and have no problems like seizing up on the plane or any other problems. He added that he anticipates he will be fit and able for selection, which will be terrific. The coach stated that their team is preparing for the coming games, in the best interests of both the team and the Test matches.