'Is IPL experience a big advantage? Not really'

NEW DELHI: Whenever a team arrives in India for a Test series, the initial noise is about how much the pitches will turn and how much visiting batsmen will struggle. The New Zealanders, here to kick-start India's long home season, too are seized with the same issue even though captain Kane Williamson tried to tackle it with a straight bat.
Talking to the media here on Tuesday, Williamson refused to subscribe to the theory that their experience of playing in the IPL is good preparation for the Kiwis.Williamson - New Zealand's 'Mr Reliable' both with the bat in hand and the captain's hat on the head - said, "The pitches in the last two years here have been quite different to the ones that have hosted IPL matches. You need to take that into the account."
Williamson asserted there was no room for complacency. "There are a number of guys who have been in the IPL for a number of years. That experience helps. But the focus is on Tests. We can draw a bit of help from the IPL experience. But that is a different format," he said in his first media interaction after arriving for three Tests and five ODIs.
In the last Test series played in India (2015), South Africa, a team full of IPL regulars, failed to counter India's spin challenge. Williamson is mindful of how the Proteas suffered. "There's no doubt it's going to a bit of a scrap. In the previous series, spin played a huge part. At times, batting was very difficult. Touring here is always tough. Particularly in Tests, India is one of the toughest."
But the 27-year-old, who has slipped into the leadership role effortlessly in the post-Brendon McCullum era, isn't going to throw in the towel. "Spin from both teams will play a big part. We have three good spinners as well," Williamson pointed out. In the first game of this year's World T20 in Nagpur, Kiwi spinners Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum easily won the spin contest. Santner and Sodhi are here and the Kiwis also have off-spinner Mark Craig.
"Even though we are not going to bowl like subcontinent bowlers, we do have to make sure we find a way to create opportunities. These three spinners are keen learners. And then we have fine seamers in Tim Southee and Trent Boult who will be vital as reverse swing comes into the picture on these abrasive and non-responsive pitches," coach Mike Hesson said.