Christchurch, Oct 21 (IANS) As Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back to India's T20I setup after a gap of nearly four years, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner is wary of the challenge the senior pacer can pose in the five-match T20I series that begins on Thursday, as he stated that the swing king will pose a challenge with the new ball in New Zealand conditions.

Bhuvneshwar earned a recall to India’s T20I squad for the five-match series against New Zealand, marking his return to the national side after nearly four years. He was then drafted into the rain-marred fifth T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru as a cover for Arshdeep Singh before replacing Mayank Yadav in the playing eleven.

"Bhuvi will love these conditions in New Zealand. If there's anything in the wicket, he'll find something out of it. Even on some flat ones in India, still manages to nip the ball and swing the ball. So with the new ball out here especially, he'll be a challenge," Santner said on the eve of the series opener in Christchurch, as quoted by cricinfo.

"I mean in India it's pretty challenging as a bowler these days, like we've seen in the recent series against West Indies, 250 getting chased down - who wants to be a bowler? - but he might like it out here a little better," he added.

The 36-year-old last represented India in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England at the Adelaide Oval in November 2022. A strong run in the Indian Premier League over the last two seasons has helped the experienced seamer force his way back into the national setup.

Santner further noted how dangerous India can be on flatter pitches, adding that the large outfield at Hagley Oval would give the bowlers some respite in the series opener.

"First things first, both teams will need to assess conditions. If there's a little bit in it, it's harder to go extremely hard, but we know India have shown when it's flat and good they're very, very tough to stop.

"So one thing here, there's slightly bigger boundaries as well, which is more in the bowlers' favour, but again, if it's flat and it's not doing a hell of a lot, we're going to have ways of slowing India down, because we know when it's flat and small they are very, very good.

"If there is something in the pitch for the seamers to start, it's obviously nice, but throughout the series we're going around the country, they're not all going to be green seamers and flying around, so both teams are going to have to adapt quickly to the conditions and then play accordingly," he said.

--IANS

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