Bowlers helped in setting up victory: Hafiz

New Delhi, Jan 22: The pitches in New Zealand have become a lot more batting-friendly over the years, says iconic former batsman Sachin Tendulkar, insisting that India have the “ammunition” to trouble the sprightly hosts during the upcoming series.

Tendulkar, who has been on a record five New Zealand tours since 1990, feels that from seaming tracks during his early trips years, the tracks became high-scoring hard ones during his last tour back in 2009.

“Of late, the Tests in New Zealand have been high scoring and surfaces have changed,” Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview.

India will play five T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests during the tour starting with the shortest format on January 24.

From 2002, when India played ODIs and Tests on green tops, to 2009, when India won only their second Test series in 32 years, Tendulkar has seen it all in New Zealand.

“I remember when we played in 2009, the Hamilton pitch was different compared to other pitches. Other pitches got harder (Wellington and Napier) but not Hamilton. It remained soft.

“But Napier became hard with passage of time (where Gautam Gambhir scored an epic match-saving 12-hour hundred in 2009). So, from my first tour (in 1990 till 2009), I realised pitches got harder with passage of time,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar is confident that the Indian bowling attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, has the ammunition to put New Zealand in trouble.

“We have a good bowling attack with quality fast bowlers as well as spinners. I believe we have the ammunition to compete in New Zealand.”

However, in Wellington, Tendulkar wants the team to be well-prepared to counter the breeze factor.

“Wellington, I have played and it makes a huge difference if you are bowling with the wind or against the wind. The batsman needs to be judicious in the choice of which end he wants to attack, it is very important,” he said.

Tendulkar said he would prefer spinners to bowl against the breeze.

“...the seamers bowling against the strong breeze need to be smart. So I would prefer that if there is strong breeze, let the spinner bowl from that end and from the opposite end, the fast bowler bowls with the breeze behind him,” he said.

The maestro is confident that Rohit Sharma's white ball experience will hold him in good stead in the Tests as well, an assignment that has been kept for the last leg of the trip, which begins with five T20 Internationals from January 24.

“The challenge would be to go out and open in different conditions. I think Rohit had opened in New Zealand in ODIs and has been there quite a few times, he knows the conditions well. Eventually, Test cricket is Test cricket,” he said.

“But all depends on surfaces that they provide. If they provide green tops, then it's a challenge.”

There is no Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar in limited-overs series but Tendulkar is not ready to press the panic button.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game when you play and push your body to the limits.

“When you play for your country you need to give your best and while you give your best, you can get injured. That's okay,” he concluded.

Karachi, May 25: Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq believes Babar Azam is destined to be a world-class player and is very close to being in the same league as India skipper Virat Kohli and Australia's Steve Smith.

"I don't like comparisons but Babar is currently very close to being in the same class as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith or Joe Root," Misbah said in an interview to Youtube channel, Cricket Baaz.

"He believes in the work ethic that if you want to better Kohli you have to work harder than him at your skills, fitness and game awareness."

The 25-year-old, who was named captain of the Pakistan T20 team ahead of the Australia series in October last year, was recently handed the reins of ODI team as well.

"Making him the T20 captain was a tester. We wanted to see how he will respond to this challenge. All of us agree that he has done a very good job and his biggest plus is that being among the worlds top players he leads by example," Misbah said.

"If you are a performer like Babar then it becomes easier for you to motivate the rest of the team and get things done.

"Even when I was made captain in 2010 my performances were here and there and I was in and out. But captaincy changed my game and mindset and I became a more hard-working and motivated cricketer."

Misbah said Babar always challenges himself and would get better as a captain with experience.

"He is in a zone of his own. He just doesn't want to be in the team. He just doesn't want to play for money. He wants to be the top performer for Pakistan. He is always pitting himself against other top batsmen like Kohli or Smith," he said.

"He loves challenges in the nets and on the field. He has really matured as a player and in time he will get better as a captain with experience."

Babar was the leading run-scorer of the T20I series against Australia last year. He also scored 210 runs, which included a hundred, at 52.50 in the Test series against the same opponents.

In the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka, Babar ended the series with 262 runs with an average of exactly 262.

Misbah feels Babar had changed as a batsman when he got runs in the Tests in Australia.

"Before that he was getting runs in tests but not consistently. In Australia and in the following tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he changed," he said.

Talking about his experience as a head coach, Misbah said: "Having captained, it has helped me a lot. As captain I had to manage everything and also having played under top coaches ... I have seen closely their work ethics and how they managed things.

"It is a learning process. Having remained captain it is a big advantage for coaching because you know the players and their mood swings. You know which player will respond in a given situation,which player is feeling pressure in a scenario.

Misbah said it is not easy juggling between different roles.

"Most important thing as a coach is mentally and psychologically how you handle a group of players," the former skipper said.

"Sometimes captain and coach is different as you have to take tough decisions. Being chief selector makes it it a bit difficult but I had experience of creating and managing teams, I have been building teams since 2003. Till now it is going well."

Misbah feels in Pakistan cricket there were different parameters for judging foreign and local coaches.

"I don't know why it is like this why do we have different eye for locals and foreigners. Maybe we feel they have something special. It looks like every decision by a foreign coach is right. In contrast we tend to be very critical of local coaches no matter what decision they take," he said.

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.