India’s tour to Zimbabwe is a short one - 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is in a span of little less than two weeks. Not much time to get used to the conditions in the African nation, tinker with team combinations or jot down each player’s skill set. But, the newly appointed Head Coach for the Zimbabwe series, Sanjay Bangar has his KRAs jotted down, and has a proper plan in place. Bangar has done his homework for a tour that will see a mix of exciting young faces donning the blue. Every member of the Indian team flying to Zimbabwe was oozing confidence with vigour to succeed, likewise with Sanjay Bangar. “I am very excited and I would like to thank the BCCI for this huge honour of being the Head Coach of the team,” Bangar told BCCI.TV on the eve of the team’s departure to Zimbabwe. “This is a very important tour for the young players. It provides them an ideal opportunity to test themselves in international waters. It is the start of a new season and it gives them an opportunity to make a mark and keep knocking at the doors of the Indian team.” India’s last two tours to Zimbabwe were in 2013 and 2015 both of which were successful ones handing the host nation whitewashes. There is a feeling that this time it would be no different but the team dynamics for the tour are completely different. It is an entirely new setup but with faces that are known to have a handy prowess in shorter formats. Bangar’s task is well cut out and the challenge is to make it all possible in a short span of time. “Among the few things that are important when we land in Zimbabwe is being aware of the individual strengths, the position that they play in;what we expect from them and then fit them in the scheme of things as far as the team composition is concerned,” Bangar said. “We have a fair idea of what they are capable of and how we can optimize their strengths into the composition of the team. Not many of them would have played in Zimbabwe and getting used to the conditions in such a short period would be a major challenge. “The conditions too are a bit challenging as compared to the other parts of the world. We don’t really have a lot of time there and we play our (first) match straightaway. Passing on the information and experiences that we have had from the previous tour would be vital. We have to make sure that the players are very well prepared and equipped to counter the challenges.” Further assessing conditions in Zimbabwe, Bangar said, “It is not really a high scoring venue. At the moment, it is sort of winter there and this year we are going to be playing with Kookaburra balls. We played with Duke balls last year. The Duke ball tends to do a bit more than the Kookaburra ball. We will have to go there and find out what is the behaviour of a Kookaburra ball vis-à-vis a Duke ball. Zimbabwe is also at a higher altitude. So fielding-wise, the ball tends to travel slightly quicker. Those are the small adjustments you need to make to make sure that you are on top of the game.” Bangar was mighty pleased with the composition of the team as well. He believed every member in this young team had earned his spot and come through the ranks to get a chance to wear that Indian jersey with pride. Add the experience of an MS Dhoni to it and this looked like a formidable side to do well in Zimbabwe according to Bangar. “All of them have worked very hard to earn the India colours. Each one is capable of winning the match for his team on his given day. You have spin bowlers who can turn the course of the match and pacers with special abilities. You have Dhawal Kulkarni who has got great experience of first-class cricket. He has got great control and is capable of bowling at all stages of the game. Then, you have Jasprit Bumrah who is always learning. He made a huge mark since he played for India since January. Barinder Sran is someone who is exciting and brings his own skill set being a left-armer which is always an added strength. You have a Rishi Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal who has done consistently well in the IPL and shorter formats. “In the batting department we know how Manish Pandey played that dazzling knock in Sydney against Australia and won us that game. We then have Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu, who both scored a century in the tour of Zimbabwe. KL Rahul has made a mark in the IPL and has had success in the past with the Indian Test team. All this with the presence of MS Dhoni gives a fantastic opportunity for the younger guys to showcase their talent.” With so much of youth and exuberance in the side, be rest assured to see some fearlessness on the field come the start of the Zimbabwe tour, Bangar ensured. “We will be looking to go out there and play the brand of cricket that the Indian team has displayed over the last two years. This team fields well, there is a lot of energy, buzz and intensity in whatever they do and that would be the underlying message in approaching all three departments of the game.”