With a population like ours, merely competing with India is fantastic: Glenn Phillips

Ahmedabad, Mar 6 (PTI) For a country of just over five million people, standing toe-to-toe with a cricketing superpower like India is an achievement in itself, New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips said on Friday, offering a perspective on the contrasting scales of the two finalists ahead of the T20 World Cup title clash here on Sunday.

India, with a population of more than 1.4 billion, possesses an enviable depth of talent and could easily field multiple teams of comparable strength, Phillips observed while reflecting on the daunting challenge awaiting the Black Caps in the title clash on Sunday.

“Obviously, we have got a few less people in our country, to have the luxury of choosing from, which means obviously our high performance program has to be very specific and catered for the population that we've got,” Phillips said during an interaction at the Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of the Black Caps’ training session.

Interestingly, Phillips, regarded as one of the finest fielders among active cricketers, turned the spotlight on India ahead of the marquee encounter — a comment that could also be seen as a gentle attempt to shift the psychological weight onto the home side, which will carry the expectations of over a billion fans.

For perspective, New Zealand’s population stands at around 5.36 million (53.6 lakh), which is roughly four million fewer than the population of Ahmedabad city alone, estimated at about 9.3 million.

“But obviously, the talent that comes out of India is phenomenal. And, you know, they could probably pick three sides that would compete just as evenly in this World Cup.

“So for us to go out and compete with teams around the world, with such a small population is fantastic," Phillips tried to put things in perspective. PTI KHS KHS UNG