New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner wary of challenge posed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is wary of the threat posed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar as his side gears up to face India in a five-match T20I series, beginning at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on October 22.

Santner believes Bhuvneshwar will be able to make the most of even the slightest assistance for fast bowlers and expects the veteran seamer to pose a significant challenge for the hosts.

"I think Bhuvi will love these conditions in New Zealand. If there's anything in the wicket, he'll find something out of it," Santner said on the eve of the series opener. "Even on some flat ones in India, he still manages to nip and swing the ball. So, with the new ball out here especially, he'll be a challenge.

"I mean, it's pretty challenging to be a bowler in India these days. As we've seen in the recent series against West Indies, scores of 250 were getting chased down. Who wants to be a bowler? But he might like it out here a little better."

On the other hand, India captain Shreyas Iyer is delighted to have Bhuvneshwar back in the side. India's pace attack has largely been without Jasprit Bumrah in the shortest format since the T20 World Cup earlier this year. During that period, the team relied heavily on inexperienced pacers, with largely disappointing results.

Iyer believes Bhuvneshwar's return will provide a major boost to India's struggling pace department.

"Bhuvi, like you said, brings a lot of experience to the team," Iyer said. "That was something we lacked, especially after the IPL, when we had a lot of new bowlers. If you look at Bhuvi's career over the last two years, he's won the IPL as well, so he knows very well how to dominate this format."

India's tour of New Zealand 2026 (T20I Leg)