T20 World Cup surely in sight but India still focused on New Zealand series: Ryan ten Doeschate

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has said that the upcoming T20 World Cup remains a “long way” off, with the team’s immediate focus firmly on the ongoing white-ball series against New Zealand, the ODI leg of which is currently level at 1-1.

India suffered a seven-wicket defeat in the second encounter, allowing the visitors to square the series, but ten Doeschate insisted that preparations for the global event have not diluted the importance of the bilateral contest.

“There’s a real chance that you’re so focused on the World Cup that you think, ‘Oh, these three games this week just comes and goes’ and we don’t learn anything and we don’t put our best foot (forward), or we don’t put our best performances out there,” ten Doeschate said after the Rajkot fixture as quoted by The Hindu.

Furthermore, he stressed that the Indian team management has not altered its approach in the ODI series anticipating the T20 World Cup. While acknowledging the long-term significance of the World Cup, ten Doeschate explained that India’s approach revolves around building momentum through consistent performances.

“Strategy-wise, I can’t see anything that we’ve had to skirt around in terms of prepping for the (T20) World Cup. We are fully focused on this series. Every series is important. Individually for these players, there’s a lot at stake. The World Cup is still a long way away, but (it’s about) building from series to series and getting in good habits, so (we are) trying to manage both and put the excitement of the T20 World Cup just on the back burners for another few more days,” he said.

At the same time, the former Netherlands international underlined the need to manage player workload, especially for those likely to feature in the T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue's preparations have been complicated by injuries, with Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant, and Washington Sundar sidelined, all of whom are part of the T20 World Cup plans. The 45-year-old, however, dismissed any suggestion that overlapping priorities could affect performances.

“We’re very cautious or conscious about not doing that. But at the same time, you do want to protect the guys who are going to play in the T20 World Cup, and you are thinking about it. You’ve got to be able to apply yourself to both situations. Particularly with the two sets of personnel that we have, they’re very different so there’s no real excuse for not focusing on this,” he said.

“The Test whitewashes hurt a lot”

Reflecting on the Indian team's recent struggles while playing at home, including the Test series whitewashes to New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa earlier this season, ten Doeschate admitted the losses were difficult to accept.

"The two home Test series defeats hurt a lot. To come into a team where the home record is as impeccable as it has been for India, it's tough to front up to those two series losses. You're trying to experiment (but) you're absolutely not saying it's okay to lose. But they sit a little bit more right than the Test match losses," he said.

"We're always trying to win every game, with managing the medium to long-term prospects of the team as well. But yeah, it's certainly something we need to get back to, to guys really fearing coming in and playing India," he added.

India will look to bounce back in the series decider on January 18 in Holkar Stadium in Indore and reassert control as they continue to balance momentous results with long-term goals before the action moves to the shortest format of the game.