Napier: India will bank on its time tested players in the series against New Zealand. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said today that he will not experiment too much with his settled team and that the five-match contest should serve as a good exposure to some of his players before the World Cup.
Dhoni was non-committal about Suresh Raina coming up the order after his poor performance against Australia in October. Since Yuvraj Singh is not in the side, number four spot in the batting order is up for grab.
"We will see what suits us best and then we will move ahead. As of now, after the Greg Chappell era, experimentation is something we have done away with. We don't really change too many things anymore. We will give chances to a few players and hopefully they will rise up to the occasion and accept the
challenges that they are pushed into," Dhoni said ahead of the series-opener tomorrow.
Dhoni said the series would be a good for experience since the World Cup will be hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand.
"It's good exposure for our players who have not played in New Zealand before. In the bowling department particularly, there are some new additions to the squad. Wind will be a factor here and when you are exposed to different conditions, you work hard on your game.
"So it will be a good experience for them. In turn, it will be good for the team because we will have players who have already played in these conditions and particularly at venues where we will be playing the 2015 World Cup. So it should be a good tour for us," said the Indian captain.
Indian team arrived in New Zealand almost a full week ahead of the first ODI and it gave them ample time to reflect on the conditions here and prepare for the month-long trip comprising of five ODIs and two Tests.
"Our preparation has been good. We were given very good facilities. The ground where we practiced, Nelson Park, we were given a centre wicket which was good practice. Net bowlers were also made available to us. We have also looked into each and every aspect of our game, not only batting and bowling, but also fielding because it will play a vital role," Dhoni pointed out.
