“In India, it’s pretty challenging as a bowler these days. We’ve seen in the recent series, 250 getting chased down. Who wants to be a bowler, but he (Bhuvneshwar) might like it out here a little bit better.” Santner said he is hoping for it to be a contest in which bowlers dominate,” Santner told reporters on the eve of the first T20I.

India’s recent ODI and T20I series against the West Indies saw run scoring records being demolished, with targets of over 400 in ODIs and over 250 in T20Is being chased down relatively easily. India head coach Gautam Gambhir himself was highly criticial of the conditions, twice raising concerns about the effect it could have had on the bowlers.

Santner said that he is hoping that the conditions are favourable for bowlers over the course of the white-ball leg of India’s tour of New Zealand. The tour consists of the five-match T20I series that starts on Thursday, followed by a five-match ODI series. It ends with a two-match Test series. “I think maybe the first game it might be, but it can change pretty quickly. It’s very weather dependent. The second game is a used pitch, same pitch we used for first game. It could be a bit flatter. If it nips around, we’ve got to play accordingly. If it’s flat, you’ve got to play accordingly,” said the 34-year-old left-arm spinner.

“If there is a little bit in it, you might have to change a few shots, but they’ve played on fast, bouncy wickets before. They’ve played all around the world and done really well. It’s going to be a challenge this series and we’re looking forward to it,” he said.