New Zealand captain Tom Latham urged his team to play fearlessly as they prepare to face India in the upcoming three-match Test series against Rohit Sharma’s squad. The matches will take place in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai, beginning on Wednesday, October 16.
Following a 0-2 defeat in their recent Test tour of Sri Lanka, Tim Southee resigned as captain, handing over the reins to Latham. Historically, New Zealand has struggled in Tests in India, winning just two out of 36 matches there.
Ahead of this challenging series against Team India, Latham addressed the media, as reported by ESPNcricinfo:
“From my point of view it’s about trying to continue doing the good stuff we’ve been doing, trying to put my spin on things. It’s an exciting challenging going over to India and once we can go over there hopefully [we can] play with a bit of freedom, bit of no fear and try and take it to them. If we do that hopefully gives ourselves a good chance.”
“Think in India we’ve seen teams that have done well out there in the past have been quite aggressive towards them, especially with the bat they’ve looked to play a few shots, but also put them under pressure which is really important over there rather than sitting and waiting for something to happen.”
“We’ll decide on how we want to play when we get over there, but guys have got plans around how they like to approach things and hopefully we can fine tune those,” he added.
New Zealand is currently on a four-match losing streak in Tests, while India recently dominated Bangladesh with a 2-0 victory at home. This marked the Men in Blue’s 18th consecutive Test series win at home, a streak that began in the 2012-13 season.
“There’s a reason he ranks so highly on New Zealand’s wicket list”- Tom Latham in support of Tim Southee
Tom Latham expressed confidence in veteran pacer Tim Southee, believing he can bounce back from his recent struggles in Test bowling during the tour of India. The 35-year-old has had a tough year with the ball in six Tests, managing just eight wickets at an average of 73.12.
“Someone with that amount of experience who’s done it for many years there’s certainly no reason why he can’t get back to where he’s been in the past. He’s been a fantastic bowler for us for many years, there’s a reason why he’s so high on the wicket list for New Zealand,” said Latham in the same interaction.
“He’ll have a similar role that he has always had whether it’s as captain or in the past, someone like that who has a wealth of experience, a wealth of knowledge in all conditions and he’s done it for many years and has been successful. We’ll certainly be tapping into his mind, his ideas, so looking forward to it,” he added.
Despite his recent challenges, Southee is still New Zealand’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, boasting 382 wickets and 15 five-wicket hauls across 102 matches.
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