Santner admits Sooryavanshi is hard to stop, but Iyer keeps teen on bench

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has said his side has done its homework on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old may not even figure in the five-match T20I series that starts at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Thursday, 22 October.

Santner spoke at the pre-series media conference on Wednesday. He said Sooryavanshi has shown, mainly in the IPL, how aggressive he can be, and that bowlers have found him tough to contain. The hosts have therefore worked out plans to use if he gets a game. Santner also stressed that the teenager has a big part to play for India, whether that is in this series or later in his career.

India's selection thinking points the other way, at least for the opener. Captain Shreyas Iyer said on the eve of the match that Sooryavanshi cannot simply walk into the XI. His reasoning is that Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, the World Cup-winning opening pair, have been scoring consistently. Iyer said the young left-hander will get his chances in due course, and that the priority for now is keeping him happy and comfortable in the dressing room. Ishan Kishan is also settled in the No. 3 slot, so there is no obvious vacancy higher up the order.

This is the familiar selection puzzle for India. Sooryavanshi made his India debut in the T20Is in England in July this year. He did not play a single game in the recent series against West Indies, where the openers were retained. Iyer has also said the tour will still be useful for him. Watching how pace and bounce work on New Zealand pitches should help him the next time India visit.

Santner linked that point to conditions. He noted that India did well against short-pitched bowling in England, where opponents went hard at their batters. He believes New Zealand's bouncier surfaces will pose a different kind of test. He conceded that the conditions may help the home side only slightly. He also said the opening game could offer seamers some assistance, and that the second match will be played on the same surface as the first. That could make batting easier as the pitch wears.

India's bowling has a notable change. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back in the T20I squad after a gap of almost four years. Santner expects him to enjoy the conditions, because a bowler who swings the new ball and finds movement off the pitch could trouble batters in the early overs. India's experienced seamer adds control and know-how to an attack that Iyer has said needed more experience.

Santner was also generous about the visitors overall. He described India as a settled, experienced unit and referred to their 4-1 win in the previous series between the sides. That series was played in India, where the two teams last met in a five-match T20I contest. Abhishek Sharma smashed 84 off 35 balls in the opening match of that series, a reminder of the firepower New Zealand must contain.

For India, the series is a chance to test depth away from home on seam-friendly tracks. Selection will be watched closely. Sooryavanshi's potential is not in doubt. The question is how soon the team management is willing to break up a combination that has produced runs and a trophy. For New Zealand, the immediate job is to take early wickets and slow the powerplay surge that has defined Indian T20 batting in the last year.

If Sooryavanshi does get a game at some stage in the five matches, the New Zealand attack will be waiting with its plan. The first ball of the series is likely to be bowled to Abhishek or Samson.