The team leaves for the subcontinent today and Hesson has selected three specialist spinners in his 15-man squad, so perhaps he is hedging his bets a little bit.
However, he told the Otago Daily Times the seamers might have more luck than the slow bowlers.
‘‘I don't think it [spin] will be as big a factor as some people think just because of the fact we are playing night games and it is a bit earlier in the season,'' Hesson said.
‘‘There is no doubt the spinners will play a role but I don't think they [the pitches] are going to be as people are predicting.
‘‘Certainly, how you are able to score off them will be critical and we will be using our spinners to create opportunities through the middle. But there will still be new-ball swing with night games in India at that time of the year.''
The Black Caps have the luxury of being able to call on Kane Williamson to bowl a few overs of off breaks if required, and it appears Mitchell Santner has first dibs on a slow bowling spot with Nathan McCullum and Ish Sodhi jostling for the other potential spot in the playing XI.
Santner's first-class record is far from potent. In 25 matches, he has taken 31 wickets at an average of 52.64. But with the white ball he is a very effective bowler. In T20 cricket he has a strike rate of 25, which Hesson described as ‘‘world-class'', and a miserly economy rate of 6.19.
The Black Caps open their campaign against home side India at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on March 16 (New Zealand time).
The camp will have a very different feel in the post-Brendon McCullum era. His retirement has stripped the team of his positive energy.
‘‘Brendon is an optimist and when you operate in the international sporting arena I think you need to be an optimist.
‘‘The reality is we will miss Brendon as a T20 player, no doubt about that. But we have not had Brendon for our last eight T20 internationals and we have won six of those. We've gone from No8 in the world to No4 in the world.''
It is just as well the Blacks Caps are in good form as they have a tough road getting out of group 2 which involves India, Pakistan and Australia and the qualifier from group A, which will probably be Bangladesh.
‘‘The biggest challenge will be to get out of the pool. If you are able to do that, you give yourself a good chance of winning.
‘‘But you are going to have to win at least three of those four games. When you are playing three subcontinent sides ... and Australia, well there are certainly no easy games.
‘‘If we can get some momentum early, then you can get on a little bit of a roll and it is amazing what a bit of confidence can do.''
As for whether former international Jesse Ryder would be considered for the Black Caps in the future, Hesson gave a guarded response.
‘‘I'm not really interested in giving you a headline I guess regarding whether he is back in the [mix] or not. I think we made it pretty clear we went for coffee with a few of the senior guys, and Jesse talked to us about how he was going with life and cricket.
‘‘That was good to hear but we've sort of said we'll keep in touch. We'd never close the door on anyone.''
