New Zealand are banking on mixed fortunes from the IPL, their recent tour of Pakistan and experience of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to ensure they are prepared for their T20 World Cup campaign in the absence of official warm-up matches.

Warm-up matches were offered by ICC, but amid the logistical challenges of getting the entire squad together in the Caribbean - they will arrive in three batches between May 23 and June 1, the latter being any players involved in the IPL finals - and the proposed location of warm-up fixtures, New Zealand opted not to have them and instead use extra training sessions ahead of their opening group match against Afghanistan on June 7.

"There's a lot of experience in the group who have played in the CPL before, so we'll be leaning on those guys and making sure the trainings we get prior to the first game puts us in a position of where we want to be."

Devon Conway and Finn Allen fitness

Stead, however, remained confident in preparations ahead of facing Afghanistan. "We've only got two players who haven't been to a T20 World Cup that are in this squad," he said. "That shows our group is experienced and they can lean back on those past experiences."

The players who are training in New Zealand have been utilising a variety of surfaces to try and replicate what could be on offer in Guyana and Trinidad where they play their group matches. Stead believed surfaces could start out conducive to higher scores before tiring depending on how many times they are used.

New Zealand's tough group

On paper, New Zealand appear to have one of the tougher routes to the Super Eights having been grouped with Afghanistan, whose spinners could enjoy conditions, and hosts West Indies meaning at least one of those three nations won't progress. They also face Uganda and Papua New Guinea in the first round.

"Certainly looking forward to the challenge ahead and also the unknown of some of these new teams as well, the difference they might bring that we have to be really complete with our planning," Stead said.

*IPL stats as of May 15