India and New Zealand will clash in the third T20I in Wellington on October 27.
Ahead of the third T20I, Morkel talked about the wind in Wellington City, calling it a "different beast." He also stated that it would be important for players to get used to it and take it as a challenge.
Speaking to the reporters ahead of the match, Morkel said about the wind factor, "I mean, yeah, this is a different, different beast, this wind. I was in the hotel this morning, and the whole building was sort of shaking. So, I think it is going to be a new sort of thing that we add to our books for the guys to get used to and accustomed to, with a quick turnaround. For us again, it is looking forward to that challenge and taking it head-on and not really making excuses.”
Morne noted that the wind can influence many things, and players only have a brief window during training, warm-ups, and practice to figure out how it will affect them.
"And then when it comes to game time, you have to block that out and really just try and execute every delivery and make every ball count," he said.
Speaking on the wind factor and how the situation unfolds, which will also benefit Team India for the Test match they will play later at the venue, Morne said that Wellington as a venue had been discussed well before the tour and that the "seeds were planted."
"I spoke to some of the boys who are back in India last night, and they asked sort of what the conditions are like, and I said, 'Make sure you get a very strong fan at home, and you walk into the fan because that is going to be your preparation'. Like I said, you know, we, when I toured here with South Africa, had certain ways that we went about trying to get used to it. I do not think you can ever get used to it in a space of 2, 3, 4 days. So, as I said, this is the way you are going to frame the whole situation," he said.
"You are either going to see it as a challenge, or you are going to see it as a negative, or it is going to let you down. And hopefully we can get those guys in a mental space where they look forward to that challenge, and at the end of the day, you need somebody to put their hand up and bowl into the wind because we cannot have four guys bowling off the wind," he signed off.
After Wellington, the two teams will travel to Auckland for the fourth T20I on October 30, and the final game of the series will be played in Hamilton on November 1. The two teams will then face off in a five-ODI series starting November 4, and then in a two-test series as well.
(ANI inputs)