"India are setting up players for their next South Africa tour and managing the workload pretty well" - Kamran Akmal
Former Pakistani keeper Kamran Akmal has credited the Indian team for managing the workload of their players. He stated that playing new faces in their ongoing New Zealand series, India are setting up the squad for their next tour to South Africa.
Resting regular stars like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja, India has fielded a rather young team in the ongoing T20I series against the Kiwis. Led by Rohit Sharma, the young Indian brigade includes talented names like Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan and Ishan Kishan to name a few.
Following India's thumping win over New Zealand in the second T20I, Kamran Akmal posted a video on his official YouTube channel - 'Catch and Bat with Kamran Akmal'. You can watch his video below:
The Pakistani veteran spoke about India's great pool of talented players and opined that they are providing the right opportunities to the youngsters. Akmal said:
"It's a fabulous win, that too with some new players. No other team does that. Because India have a great pool of talent, they are giving them opportunities. They are setting up players for their next South Africa tour and managing the workload pretty well. Rohit's captaincy has been aggressive, just as he bats."
Akmal also praised the Indian team for playing 'wonderfully' against an opposition of New Zealand's caliber, who were the finalists of the recent T20 World Cup 2021. Akmal said:
"Despite resting a few key senior players from the team, India is playing wonderfully. It's a big achievement to play like this against a World Cup finalists."
Following the 3-match T20I and 2-match Test series with the Kiwis, India will head towards the African continent for a three-match Test series, starting on December 17. The Test matches will be succeeded by three ODIs and four T20Is.
"It looked as if New Zealand won't repeat their mistakes from the first T20I" - Kamran Akmal on Kiwi batting collapse
Kamran Akmal, who has more than 6,500 international runs to his name, also criticized the Kiwi batters for not building on the terrific start they made to their innings.
New Zealand were 64/1 in the powerplay and looked ominous. However, a brilliant comeback from the Indian bowlers allowed them to pile up only 89 in the last 14 overs.
Tim Southee's side found themselves in a similar situation in the first T20I as well. With the likes of Kane Williamson and Devon Conway not part of the ongoing series, the Kiwis' middle-order seems to be a weak link in their side.
In his video, Akmal slammed New Zealand for repeating the same mistake of not capitalizing on a good start. He said that it's extremely important to set a good total, especially in India, where the pitches largely suit the batters. Akmal said:
"It looked like New Zealand won't repeat their mistakes from the first T20I and will bat well to set a good total. It's extremely crucial to post a high total against India in India because the pitches there suit batters."
Akmal added:
"Despite scoring 64 runs in the powerplay, they could only get to 153 runs in 20 overs. This clearly shows the weakness of the middle order. They didn't take the responsibility to carry on the initial momentum."
Following their loss in the second T20I, New Zealand will look for a consolation win when the two sides meet in Kolkata for the third T20I on November 21.