India keep CWC27 goals in mind ahead of New Zealand series

India captain Shubman Gill expressed immense faith in his squad's depth on the eve of the opening ODI against New Zealand in Auckland, as he discussed his plans for the five-match series with one eye on next year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

The five-match ODI series in New Zealand provides India with an excellent opportunity to get in shape ahead of the Cricket World Cup, with Gill highlighting the importance of testing young talent under challenging overseas conditions.

"I believe any Indian team that takes the field is capable of defeating any opposition," Gill said ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand. 

"The young players will gain a lot of confidence if they perform well here. It will also give us confidence that even if we don't have the squad we ideally want for the World Cup for any reason, we have a team capable of beating other sides in different conditions," Gill added.

New Zealand is known to provide lateral movement and bounce for pacers, and Gill reckoned that conditions at this time of the year in New Zealand would be closer to South Africa next year.

"The World Cup will certainly be at the back of our minds. These conditions are going to be much more similar to those in South Africa than in some of the other countries where we will be playing," he said. 

"The weather conditions around this time of the year are also likely to be closer to what we might experience in South Africa, rather than the hotter conditions in December or January," he added.

Addressing the challenges posed by the New Zealand tracks, Gill noted that bouncy pitches will test both units while giving India's young bowling attack a chance to showcase their potential.

The skipper specifically highlighted the team's strategy of fielding tall, expressive fast bowlers to break middle-over partnerships when the surface flattens out.

"Identifying the kind of bowlers that can make run-scoring difficult for the batters and that can give us the best opportunity to take wickets in the middle overs - that has been the thinking around trying someone like a Gurnoor (Brar) or a Prasidh (Krishna), which gives us a bit more than someone who is bowling at maybe 135 [kph] when the wicket is flat," Gill said.

"I have played in the middle overs a lot, and I have seen that if those bowlers can hit the right areas - obviously hitting the right areas is the key - if tall fast bowlers can hit the right areas, it is a lot more difficult to score runs than someone who is bowling at 135 or 130 [kph]."

"You have to be really precise with your shot-making. You have to be really on top of your game to be able to score against someone who is 140 [kph]-plus, who is 6'1", 6'2", 6'3". And there is a lot more risk when you are trying to score freely [against] that kind of bowler," Gill added.

In addition to bowling strategy, Gill revealed that India will maintain a flexible middle order to adjust to game situations and match-ups.

"We will have a floating approach for no.5 and no.6. Our top four is set, all right-handers. So if a lefty is needed, Axar bhai (Axar Patel) goes and depending on the match situation, even KL bhai (KL Rahul) can go. So bit flexible," Gill said.

Balance will be key for India at next year's World Cup, and all eyes will be on the fitness of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, whose abilities give India exactly that.

Gill discussed the all-rounder, who has been sidelined due to fitness issues, while expressing hope for his return.

"The qualities that he brings to the team, not many players in the world possess those qualities, to be able to have a fast-bowling all-rounder who can bowl [in any phase] of the game, with the new ball, middle overs and death overs, and the kind of batting he has," Gill said.

"It's been very unfortunate that he hasn't been able to play since the IPL. He was supposed to play the India A matches [against Australia A], but just before that he had some niggles again."

"He will play some domestic cricket, and then hopefully we will see him back in the side soon," the captain added.

India take on New Zealand in the first of the five ODIs in Auckland on Wednesday.

Series Schedule

1st ODI: 4 November, Auckland

2nd ODI: 7 November, Wellington

3rd ODI: 10 November, Hamilton

4th ODI: 13 November, Mount Maunganui

5th ODI: 15 November, Mount Maunganui