Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s experience makes him ideal for New Zealand conditions, says Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara has backed Bhuvneshwar Kumar as India's first-choice new-ball bowler in New Zealand, citing conditions ideal for swing. Abhishek Nayar praised the pacer's IPL performances, while both highlighted the importance of overseas success for confidence and captaincy

New Delhi: Cheteshwar Pujara believes Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be India’s first-choice new-ball bowler in New Zealand, as the conditions there would be ideal for the experienced pacer’s swing bowling.

Bhuvneshwar’s ability to exploit movement in the air and off the pitch makes him well suited to conditions in New Zealand, where Shreyas Iyer will look to lead India to a series victory.

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The five-match series begins on Thursday in Christchurch.

“In New Zealand, he should be the first choice with the new ball, based on the conditions, because of the skill he possesses of swinging the ball. If the ball won’t swing in New Zealand, where else will it swing? The conditions there are ideal for him,” Pujara said on JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Not Out’.

“If there is a little help from the pitch, he can extract that movement from the pitch very well with the new ball,” he added.

Pujara also said a victory in New Zealand would provide a significant confidence boost to both the captain and the team, given the challenges of performing in overseas conditions.

“When you go to New Zealand and defeat the New Zealand team, it’s a big achievement. Performing well in overseas conditions for the Indian team in any format, whether it is ODIs, T20Is or a Test match, boosts your confidence,” he said.

“If you do well there as a captain or as a team, your confidence goes up, knowing that you can perform well not just in Indian conditions, but anywhere in the world.”

Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar pointed out that Bhuvneshwar had excelled in the IPL despite the absence of seam-friendly conditions, bowling both with the new ball and at the death over the last two seasons.

“In the IPL, there aren’t seaming conditions; there are flat pitches. Yet, for two years, he has been bowling two overs at the top and two at the back end, the toughest phases of the game,” Nayar said.

“To do that, you need experience, you need a bowler who understands the conditions and can extract the best out of those conditions, and there has never been a question about Bhuvneshwar Kumar.”

Nayar said he was pleased to see the experienced pacer return to the national set-up.

He also said success in New Zealand would help Iyer establish his credentials as a captain, particularly given the comparisons with Suryakumar Yadav, who previously led India in T20Is.

“It’s not about whether he’s worthy or not in comparison to Surya, because at that time, India played a lot of series in India. They didn’t travel a lot. After Shreyas Iyer took up captaincy, they’ve gone to England, and now they’re going to New Zealand,” he said.