India’s Jasprit Bumrah (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
AHMEDABAD: For a nation with a population of just 5.3 million – smaller than many of the world’s major cities – the rise of cricket in New Zealand over the past decade has been remarkable. The Black Caps have reached eight ICC major finals, including the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups, the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
They also lifted the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021 and reached the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup.Their women’s team are the champions of the 2024 T20 World Cup while the men’s team now stands on the brink of their maiden T20 title when they take on India in the T20 World Cup final here on Sunday evening.On Friday, New Zealand cricketer Glenn Phillips highlighted the contrast between the two cricketing nations.
With India’s population exceeding 1.4 billion, Phillips pointed to the depth of talent available to the hosts, suggesting they could easily field three competitive teams in the T20 World Cup. By contrast, New Zealand has to rely on a much smaller pool of talent.“Clearly we have fewer people in our country to choose from, which means our high-performance programs have to be very specific and tailored to our population,” Phillips said ahead of New Zealand’s training session.
“But the talent coming out of India is phenomenal. They could probably pick three teams that compete equally well in the World Cup. So to go out and compete with teams from all over the world with such a small population is great.”
“Meanwhile, Phillips refused to rule out India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who conceded 64 runs in four overs against England in the semi-final at Wankhead Stadium on Thursday.
“We’ve played him a few times now, which helps,” Phillips said. “We’re just going to try to take it one ball at a time. He’s allowed to have a good day, but we’re also allowed to have a good day.”“Bumrah is a human being too.”Phillips also acknowledged the threat posed by Jasprit Bumrah, whose spells have proven effective in the hosts’ last two matches. “We had a really good outing against him in the bilateral series but he is a top-class bowler,” Phillips said. “Bumrah has so many differences and hits the fence at the death incredibly well. But he’s human too.”
