New Zealand announces 15-men squad for 2-match Test series against India; Trent Boult rested
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced a strong 15-man squad for the upcoming 2-match Test series against India. Ace pacer Trent Boult and veteran all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme were rested from the series to manage their bio-bubble workloads.
Kane Williamson will be available to lead the side during this series. It is the first series for defending champions New Zealand in the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Expectedly the Kiwis have packed their bowling unit with numerous spin options. They opted to go with three pacers and five spin bowling options for this tour. Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, and Will Somerville will handle the responsibilities in the spin department.
Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, and Neil Wagner will handle pace bowling responsibilities in the absence of Trent Boult. Explaining the reasons behind the decision to rest Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said:
“Trent has already spent the best part of 60 days in hard managed isolation this year, while Colin had been on the road since May until recently returning home from Pakistan. From talking to both players it was clear the best option for them was to be left out of this Test tour and for them to instead focus on being ready for the New Zealand home summer.”
Coach Gary Stead explains the rationale behind Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme making themselves unavailable for the Test tour of India due to the prospect of further time in bio-secure bubbles and Managed Isolation #INDvNZ https://t.co/O6XMXVjfHN
New Zealand Test squad -
Kane Williamson, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Will Young, Neil Wagner.
Touring India is one of the greatest experiences in cricket: New Zealand head coach Gary Stead
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead opined that touring and playing cricket in India is one of the greatest experiences. He then asserted that the Kiwi players are looking forward to the exciting challenges ahead.
Stead also reckons they have good depth and a variety of spin bowling options in their squad for the series against India. In this regard, Gary Stead said:
“Touring India is one of the greatest experiences in cricket and I know our guys are really looking forward to the challenge. It’s fair to say we’re expecting spin-friendly conditions and it’s great to have a range of options in this department."
He added:
"The success of our spinners on recent tours to the sub-continent has been encouraging and we hope they can once again feature prominently. It’s really exciting to begin the second instalment of the WTC and we know there’ll be an extra incentive for all the teams we play following our win in the inaugural competition.”
"It's exciting and what you want to face up against,"
- coach Gary Stead discusses the five spin options named in the Test squad to face India later this month #INDvNZ https://t.co/qhJRthpOzA
New Zealand's tour of India will kick off with the 3-match T20I series. Jaipur, Ranchi, and Kolkata will host the three T20I games on November 17, 19, and 21. The Test series will then commence with the first match on November 25 at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. The final game of the tour will begin on December 3 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.