It is the start of a new series for us. And it is time to start afresh as we begin the final stretch in our preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
We have a lot of new personnel and they are excited about being in India. They are all itching to play a part and are looking forward to the series which is going to be cracker of a contest.
The series is extremely important for both sides. It will be a great preparation for the World Cup. We have a number of players who are fighting for a place in the team for the mega-event. We will be using the competition to find the right combination. It helps that the showpiece event will be played in the Indian sub-continent.
We are absolutely lucky in that we have got an opportunity to play in all three host countries in the lead up to the World Cup. We played in Sri Lanka couple of months ago, in Bangladesh last month and now India.
Obviously Bangladesh was disappointing for us. But it has been a huge help for us to get to know more about the condition here. We will look to try as many players as possible so that we can idea of which set of players suits our team’s needs best.
Once again we have players like Scott Styris, Jamie How and Martin Guptill, who were not part of that loss. They will bring in fresh perspective and be brimming with confidence. Hopefully, the whole side can feed off that in this tough series.
We will obviously miss a player like Jesse Ryder. He is a very good player and in a very short time his presence has become essential for our fortunes. It is important that we get him fit all the time.But it is another opportunity for a new player as we look ahead to the World Cup.
India are resting a few of their senior players. But the new Indian players have experience of top flight cricket thanks to the IPL. Players like Virat Kohli, Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan are dangerous and we will not be underestimating them in any way.
India will be led by my good friend and Delhi Daredevils captain, Gautam Gambhir. Gautam’s experience at the Daredevils will help India. He is a fighter and is an asset to India. He is an aggressive captain just like when he bats. This series will stand him in good stead.
I have played at Guwahati before and so know the conditions. It does get slow as the day progresses. But an early start will mean that we can look to bowl first and use the conditions well.