Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Tom Blundell are set to return to action after being named in the New Zealand squad for the two-Test series against India that begins in Wellington on November 19.
Ravindra dislocated his right shoulder during a promotional shoot ahead of the T20I series against India and missed the white-ball leg. Devon Conway was recovering from a concussion he suffered ahead of the opening ODI, while Blundell was nursing a quadricep injury.
From the squad that won 2-1 against England earlier this year, Ben Sears (ankle injury), Zak Foulkes (hip injury), and Will O’Rourke (return-to-play programme) miss out, along with Kane Williamson who retired midway during that series. Meanwhile, Jacob Duffy returns to the team led by Tom Latham.
New Zealand Test squad: Tom Latham (C), Tom Blundell (WK), Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will Young.
The Test series and the preparations will also begin the tenure of the newly appointed batting coach BL Watling, who starts on November 16.
“This series marks the start of an exciting summer of Test cricket for the BLACKCAPS,” said head coach Rob Walter. “The squad is largely consistent with the team that competed in England earlier this year, so it’ll be great to be back together to try and recreate some of that success on home soil.
“There are ten Tests scheduled between now and March, so there’s no shortage of action for red-ball fans. Valuable Championship points are on the line of course, but our focus remains on playing our best cricket against a high-quality team like India,” added Walter.
New Zealand are currently at the top of the World Test Championship standings. After the two Tests against India, they play a four-match series against Australia in December-January, and a two-match series against Sri Lanka in February.
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