T20 World Cup 2021 | New Zealand’s first goal is to reach semi-finals, states Gary Stead

Gary Stead, the Blackcaps head coach, said that the team will not be distracted by the prospect and will focus on one game at a time.   

"Every tournament you go in, you go in with high hopes, hope to win games and put yourself in a position to achieve that. I guess our first one is focusing on one game at a time, but the main goal is to get to that semi-finals stage and if you're there, you'll know that you're only two wins away from a title. We're in a tough pool, I genuinely think there are six-seven teams that could win this tournament, and I guess that's good for world cricket as well," Stead said during a virtual media interaction after arriving in the UAE. 

"I've watched a fair bit of the IPL," he said. "It looks like there are three different surfaces and even as the tournament progresses, there seems to be the odd bit of rogue score - a very high-scoring game in Abu Dhabi, where 190 got chased down but the norm has been anywhere between 120 through to 150 mark. With the three grounds, I guess, they will provide different options and opportunities that we need to consider as well. We will certainly be calling on the expertise of and knowledge of those guys that have been playing in the IPL - what they can add to our intel as well."

"I'm not sure if there's any more tension on it from our perspective," Stead said. "Obviously, what happened in Pakistan was sad for Pakistan cricket, their players and also our players who missed out on that opportunity as well. We can't change what has happened there; all we can do is, I guess, prepare for the tournament, and we face Pakistan first up. I'm sure it will be an exciting game. We've always had good games with Pakistan cricket and this one will be no different."