'The biggest threat will be their fast bowling': Venkatapathy Raju warns India ahead of New Zealand ODIs | Exclusive

Former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju has identified New Zealand's pace attack as India's biggest threat ahead of the upcoming ODI series, while also flagging the visitors' aggressive batting and spin-bowling variations.

Speaking exclusively to Zee News Digital, Venkatapathy highlighted the ability of New Zealand's fast bowlers to generate pace, hit the deck hard and use their height to trouble Indian batters. "They're fast bowling, you've seen all those fast bowlers, right? They bowl quick. They hit the deck very hard, and they're all tall," Venkatapathy said.

The former India spinner also warned India against underestimating New Zealand's batting unit, pointing to the aggressive approach and high strike rates of their batters. He noted that the visitors have already shown their ability to take on Indian bowlers.

"And then, see, we already have seen what their batters can do. They're all hard hitters, the strike rates are big," he added.

Apart from their pace attack and aggressive batting, New Zealand's spin options could also present a challenge for India. Venkatapathy singled out Mitchell Santner for his variations, suggesting that the New Zealand captain offers a dimension that he believes is missing from India's current spin attack.

"And then if you see somebody like Santner, who's got those beautiful variations, which we are missing in our particular Indian team," he said.

Santner's ability to vary his deliveries could make him an important factor in the series, particularly if the conditions offer assistance to the spinners.

Fielding another area to watch

Venkatapathy also pointed to fielding as an important aspect of the contest. While both teams dropped several catches during the T20 matches, he maintained that New Zealand's fielding remains one of their strengths.

"And see, probably in these T20s, both the sets have dropped a lot of catches, but then their fielding is also their strength," he said.

Despite highlighting multiple areas of concern, Venkatapathy was clear about the biggest challenge India could face in the ODI series: New Zealand's fast bowling.

"So the biggest threat will be their fast bowling," he said, adding that New Zealand's batters have already shown their liking for India's bowling attack. "And see, the batters have already showed the liking for Indian bowling."

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