Ahmedabad, March 7 It is impossible that a bowler of Jasprit Bumrah's caliber would not be a part of the strategic discussions New Zealand will have ahead of the T20 World Cup final against India, captain Mitchell Santner said on Saturday.
Bumrah has been in excellent form in the ongoing T20 World Cup, and his death overs bowling against a dominant England in the semi-final has become legendary.
"Yes, I think Bumrah should be part of the discussions. The way he has been performing. He was very difficult to get out against England. And he was clearly the key player for India the other night," Santner said when asked about the conversations the team is having with Bumrah.
However, Santner cautioned that focusing solely on Bumrah would be foolish, as many Indian players have individually performed well on particular days during the campaign.
"We knew that (Bumrah performing) was always going to be the case. He is clearly a world-class bowler. But, you know, not just him, everyone has stepped up at different times. And as a team, that's what you want," the Black Caps captain said.
Varun Chakravarthy has had a disappointing tournament by his standards, but Santner feels that this could be the final match where the Tamil Nadu player might rediscover his magic.
So, will there be a psychological advantage with Chakravarthy not performing at his best?
"No, I don't think so," Santner categorically denied this assumption.
"We all know how good he is. And I think the challenge for any bowler is when the pitch is flat, compared to when it is spinning or seaming.
"But when it is flat, I think, everyone can score 60 on such a day. I think he needs to know that he is still a very good bowler. You should also know that you are only one game away from changing the momentum."
While Santner hasn't seen the pitch, he assumed it would be flat and high-scoring.
"Yes, I mean, I haven't seen the wicket yet. It's still under cover. But one can only assume it will be pretty flat and high-scoring," the captain said.
Against England, India scored 253/7 at Wankhede, but Santner's idea is to restrict them to 220 if they want to make a match of it.
"And at the end of the day, if it's going to be flat, like it was the other night, trying to restrict India to 220 instead of 250, it might give us a good chance," the captain said.
