It is impossible that a bowler of Jasprit Bumrah’s calibre won’t feature in strategic discussions New Zealand will have ahead of the T20 World Cup final against India, skipper Mitchell Santner said on Saturday.

Bumrah has been in prime form in the ongoing T20 World Cup and his death overs bowling against a rampaging England in the semifinal has become a stuff of legends.

“Bumrah, yeah, I think he should be in everyone’s conversation, the way he has been going. Against England, he looked pretty hard to hit. And he was obviously the game changer for India the other night,” Santner said when asked about what kind of conversations the think-tank is having with regards to Bumrah.

PREVIEW | India looks to exorcise Ahmedabad ghosts against bogey team New Zealand

But Santner said with a word of caution that focusing only on Bumrah would be foolish, as a lot of Indian players have individually turned up on particular days during the campaign.

“We knew that was (Bumrah performing) always going to be the case. He’s obviously a world-class bowler. But, you know, not just him, everyone has stepped up at different times. And as a team, that’s where you want to be,” the Black Caps skipper said.

Varun Chakaravarthy has had a poor tournament by his standards, but Santner feels it could be the big finale where the Tamil Nadu man might rediscover his mystery.

So, will there by a psychological advantage with Chakaravarthy not in his element? “No, I don’t think so,” Santner denied the assumption categorically.

“We have all seen how good he is. And I think the challenge for any bowler is when the pitch is flat, compared to how it looks like when it’s spinning or seaming.

“But when it is flat, I think, everyone can go for 60 on such a day. I think he’s got to know that he is still a very good bowler. You should know that you are only one game away from changing the tide.”

While Santner hasn’t had a look at the strip, he presumed that it would be flat and high-scoring.

“Yeah, I mean, I haven’t had a look at the wicket yet. It is still under cover. But one can only assume it’s going to be pretty flat and high-scoring,” the skipper said.

Against England, India smashed its way to 253 for seven on a Wankhede shirtfront, but Santner’s idea is to restrict it to 220 if it wants to make a match of it.

“And at the end of the day, if it’s going to be flat, like it was the other night, trying to restrict India to 220 instead of 250, it might give us a good chance,” the skipper said.