India clinched the ODI series 3-1 on the tour of New Zealand.
India’s stand-in ODI captain Shreyas Iyer on Sunday (November 15) publicly differed with head coach Gautam Gambhir's assessment that New Zealand conditions are comparable to South Africa for the upcoming World Cup.
After India were bowled out for 89 in the fourth ODI against New Zealand at Bay Oval on Friday (November 13), Gambhir called the collapse a serious worry. He argued that New Zealand offered the "closest" conditions to what India will face in Africa next year and urged batters to better handle the moving ball.
However, speaking to the press after the fifth ODI in Mount Maunganui, Shreyas pushed back against using the series as a World Cup dress rehearsal. He noted that the weather in South Africa will be different and that the Kiwi tour was simply a heavily bowler-dominated series where batters from both sides struggled.
Shreyas emphasized that the 2027 World Cup is still nearly a year away. He highlighted that the primary goal in New Zealand was securing the series, which India achieved with a win in the final match.
"We are in New Zealand so we can't really compare with South Africa. Weather will be different. Especially from the batting point of view both teams, it did not happen, our bowling was consistently good and theirs too, and the wicket was predominantly bowler support.
"But the most important thing for us was to win the series, and we won. So after that, we don't think much about the rest," Iyer told reporters.
He pointed out that visiting teams rarely get centre-wicket practice abroad and are restricted to side or open nets, making it harder to judge pitch behavior, bounce, and ball travel before a match.
"We don't get to practice in the centre wicket here, so we don't gauge where the ball is going to go. Whenever we come overseas, we get to practice in the open net. Everything is monotonous.
"Once we get an idea, because in India we get an open net, so when we hit, we know where the ball is going, where it's travelling. So that is one challenge that we face overseas. But if you're playing consistently overall, and when there is travel, practice in between, it kind of gets exhausting.
"And it definitely reflects in the performance as well. We are all humans at the end of the day and not machines," Iyer added.
Having already served as India's regular T20I skipper, Shreyas Iyer compared the mental demands of leading in both white-ball formats, noting that 50-over cricket requires constant tactical focus through fluctuating phases of play.
"I think I've captained enough now. But ODI is kind of challenging because you've got to constantly keep your mind working throughout 50 overs, and it's a bit exhausting.
"I experienced that in the first game, but today was, you know, there was a period where the game went slow, and it was going in rhythm. There was excitement, and then it went slow.
"But that's how you gauge the pace of the game. And it's a learning curve every day. So 50-50, one out, one loss, and one win. Kind of ecstatic," he remarked.
Despite suffering their second biggest ODI defeat in the penultimate match, India clinched the five-match series 3-1 after winning the fifth ODI by 22 runs.
Iyer stressed that the dressing room chose not to dwell on or dissect the 244-run thrashing, treating it as an anomaly rather than a systemic flaw.
"Honestly speaking, the next day, we forgot about the loss. We didn't even discuss about what happened. It was one odd game.
"We just had to brush it under the carpet and move on. Because I feel they have also come to win. They will be playing their best brand of cricket.
"And that day, Matt Henry was bowling gas. He was lethal, and he was bowling with venom. So I think credit where it's due."
Playing his first match of the tour after sitting out the earlier games, Mohammed Siraj delivered a crucial all-round performance to help India bag the ODI series.
Walking in at number 10, Siraj scored an unbeaten 14 runs off 20 balls (including one four and one six). He shared a vital 26-run last-wicket stand with Arshdeep Singh (14) that pushed India's total past the 200-mark to 209.
Opening the attack, Siraj returned with figures of 2/50 in 10 overs, including a maiden. He provided the initial breakthrough by removing opener Tim Seifert and later returned to dismiss dangerous hitter Finn Allen.
Shreyas Iyer commended Siraj for 'living up to the expectation'. "I feel Mohammed Siraj is like that guy who is, when you see a horse in a war, who is fearless, who wants to go and battle in every field. He's that kind of a player. Obviously, he wasn't part of a couple of games previously. But today, he got that opportunity. He lived up to the expectation," he concluded.