Sanju Samson, India’s keeper-batter, spoke about the condensed scheduling of Team India matches in the recent T20I series against West Indies and the upcoming T20I series in New Zealand, and how it means less time for the players to get some practice before the actual matches.
The West Indies T20I series ended in a 2-2 draw after the fifth and final game in Bengaluru was a washout. Samson was backed for the five T20Is over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi but had a mixed bag with 11, 82, 3, 56, and 16 runs.
Samson emphasized how challenging it was for him and the squad to adjust to the different conditions during the series. The team only had one practice session despite having five scheduled games.
Samson and other team members used their experience by travelling to a different city for each game and showing up on the field without doing any kind of preparation.
"To be very honest, with the way the schedule is structured these days, you don't get much time to practice or prepare. That's where your experience comes in. You try to stay in a good mental space and make the most of whatever time you get. We have just one day of batting practice," Samson told broadcasters in Bengaluru.
Samson shared the strategy for getting beyond this obstacle, saying that determining what needs to be done on a given pitch requires evaluating the conditions by playing the first few deliveries with extreme caution. To emphasize his point, he discussed the upcoming T20I series in New Zealand and its schedule.
"We'll reach there on the 20th, practice on the 21st, and play the match on the 22nd. So, we'll try to carry forward the good things we've done here. It takes a little time to adjust to the conditions there, so we'll take two or three balls to assess them. We'll follow the things we've learned through experience and play while respecting the conditions," he said.
India will travel to New Zealand in all formats from October to November of this year. The first T20I series is scheduled for October 22–November 1.
Christchurch will host the first T20I on October 22, the second on October 24, the third in Wellington on October 27, the fourth in Auckland on October 30, and the fifth in Hamilton on November 1.
(IANS inputs)
