‘Big fan of KL Rahul’: New Zealand pace great singles out India batter as player to watch out for

Trent Boult has highlighted KL Rahul as the key player for India in their Test Series vs New Zealand in November.

India will return to the fold of Test cricket when they travel to New Zealand to face the Kiwis in a two-match Test series from November 19. This will be part of a marathon tour which features 12 matches across three formats beginning on October 22. India will be looking to win both games to stay in contention for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. While all eyes will be on the likes of Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah, former New Zealand pacer Trent Boult has named KL Rahul as the batter to watch out for.

KL Rahul will be the player to watch out for in the India vs New Zealand series, reckons Trent Boult. (ANI Photo)

Boult not only named KL Rahul but also his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal as the players to watch out for. "I'm always a big fan of KL Rahul and his style of batsmanship. So he's a big player at the top of the order for the Indian side. And yeah, I believe Jaiswal is there as well. Two classy batters to see bat. So yeah, be interesting to see," Boult said in an exclusive interview to PTI felicitated by the organisers of the European T20 Premier League.

'It's going to be quite cold'

Happening in late October-November rather than in the traditional February-March window, Boult feels that India might be challenged by the winter conditions in New Zealand. He also hoped that the pitch would have a tinge of greenery that could assist the Kiwi pacers.

"It's always an exciting chance when the Indian team comes down to play Test cricket in New Zealand," Boult said.

"The only thing I can see happening is it's going to be late October. I believe, just coming out of winter. So it's going to be quite cold. Hopefully, there's a bit of greenness in the wickets for some of our bowlers. It's going to be a good series, I'm sure," the star former Kiwi pacer added.

'New Zealand bowling is very balanced'

Boult praised the current crop of bowlers in the New Zealand lineup. He felt that the current group also has enough variety and quality to create its own identity, with Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Nathan Smith and Will O'Rourke offering different strengths.

"I think the bowling is very well balanced. It's got bases covered in terms of a good pace, obviously, with Will O'Rourke. Obviously, a bit of swing and a bit of bounce from Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry with his accuracy.

"So yeah, I think the way me, Tim (Southee) and Wags (Neil Wagner) did it over the years was a unique way in itself. But there's other strengths and other game plans that our younger bowlers can follow," Boult further said.