Gary Stead warns New Zealand not to rely on home advantage against India

Former New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has cautioned his country against assuming home conditions will provide an automatic advantage when India begin their tour with a T20 series on Thursday. He said international teams are now better equipped to win away from home, pointing to India’s improved pace attack and ability to adjust to difficult conditions.

“Earlier, you played India and thought, ‘Oh, we’ll do a green track because they don’t have good seamers.’ Now they have quality seamers as well,” Stead said. He noted that New Zealand had also brought quality spinners to India in 2024, when they won the Test series 3-0.

“The whole idea of home advantage has disappeared a little bit around the world. Everyone has shown the competence to beat everyone else at any given time. So you’ve got to be on your game and be sharp.”

Stead, now head coach of Andhra’s Ranji Trophy team, said India will need to adapt to the bounce and carry expected in New Zealand. If the visitors can neutralise the hosts’ bowling, he said, the series could be “cracking”.

Tests set to test both sides

Stead identified Christchurch’s Hagley Oval and Wellington’s Basin Reserve as grounds where extra bounce could be a factor. He described the Tests as especially important for New Zealand, with the team also due to face Australia afterward.

“India are obviously an amazing Test side, and then we go to Australia and play, so there are six huge Tests coming up for New Zealand,” he said. “But if you want to be judged against the best, you’ve got to compete against the best as well.”

Stead backs more multi-format tours

Stead also argued that the ICC should consider staging more multi-format series, suggesting longer tours could help audiences stay engaged across formats. He cited the women’s Ashes as an example of a multi-format approach, while acknowledging that international scheduling is crowded by teams’ preparations for upcoming white-ball World Cups.

He added that the influence of T20 cricket can be seen in the way players approach Test matches, with the shorter format encouraging greater freedom in their play.