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NZ v India from 7.45pm tonightBlackcaps fast bowler maps out 'plans' to stop 15-year-old Indian prodigy
Sport Nation • October 22nd, 2026 6:00 am
Nathan Smith | Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Blackcaps fast bowler Nathan Smith has addressed how the Rob Walter-coached side plan on nullifying 15-year-old Indian batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has taken the cricketing world by storm.
Smith will look to be heavily involved in the Blackcaps' battle against the Indian batters, who arrived in New Zealand on Tuesday ahead of a bumper start to the summer of cricket.
India will play five T20Is and five ODI's, before two mouth-watering Test matches at the Basin Reserve and Hagley Oval.
The two teams open the international campaign Thursday night at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, where the Blackcaps will play for the first time since their 5th T20I against the West Indies back in July.
Smith, who was named in the Blackcaps squad for the five T20Is and the first three ODIs, detailed how the Kiwis have prepared for Sooryavanshi.
"It's hard to not look at him when every Instagram post is him banging 100 in the IPL," Smith told Sport Nation Mornings.
"So we've had a good look at them. The talent pool and the depth that India have is crazy. You feel like they could put out three teams that would compete in international cricket.
"It just comes back to what we do well and adapting to conditions. T20s are a game of execution at the end of the day. So we've got our plans for him, and hopefully we can go out there and execute them and keep them pretty quiet."
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When it comes to India's weaknesses, Smith said it all really comes down to the conditions.
"(Sounding) like a broken record here, but again it's coming back to those conditions and adapting on the fly because these guys have a lot of hot zones and a lot of strengths, but they do have a few colder zones or weaknesses as well.
"You can try to shut it down, especially when seam here in New Zealand means we're gonna have a little bit more in our favour than you do in India.
"Whereas when you're in India you have to just bowl a different ball every ball just because you want to keep it as unpredictable as possible, so it's going to be a different story with the pace and bounce of Hagley and obviously a little bit of dew as well might make it skid on a bit.
"These guys (India) are great players, but we have a lot of good players in our camp as well, and hopefully we can go out there and do the job."
Listen to the full interview below:
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