New Zealand stand-in T20I skipper Tim Southee on Tuesday said the international cricket calendar needs to be looked at while admitting that the COVID-19 pandemic made things harder for sportspersons thanks to bio-bubble life.
This comes ahead of the India-New Zealand three-match T20I series which begins from Nov 17 in Jaipur. Southee will captain the Kiwis in place of Kane Williamson, who will be skipping the white-ball series to prepare for the Test matches that follow.
"Kane Williamson is a big miss, he is a quality player and it is an opportunity for some of us to come in. It is exciting, a great challenge and honor to captain New Zealand," Southee said.
"Yes, it is obviously a pretty busy schedule. We knew that this would be the case leading into the T20 World Cup. We had a series in Bangladesh, guys were there in the IPL. I think with the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduling has come a lot tougher. Guys have had to do quarantine and it has been a challenge but yeah, you just have to crack on and play some cricket," said Southee while replying to an ANI query during a pre-match press conference.
When asked about workload management by resting and rotating players in T20Is, Southee said: "Yeah, it is something we have to look at throughout this series. Three games in five days with travel days in between. Guys will be managed throughout this series, but yeah, we have a squad of 15 and I am sure they will be used throughout the series."
Talking about the physical and mental challenges of playing continuous cricket, Southee said: "It is busy, we haven't had the chance to stop and think. We have to shift our focus on this series and then onto the Test series. Representing your country is a big honor. That's what keeps me going."
"We had a travel day yesterday from Dubai to Jaipur, yeah guys are looking forward to the challenge of playing in India, very disappointed after losing the T20 World Cup final, but we are looking forward to having another crack in this format in a day's time," said Southee.
(ANI inputs)
