New Zealand have announced a 14-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against India. Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Tom Blundell have been named in the squad even though they continue to recover from their respective injuries.
Conway sustained a concussion during training just ahead of the ongoing ODI series. Ravindra is, meanwhile, recovering from a shoulder injury he picked up in September during a commercial photoshoot. Blundell, on the other hand, is recovering from a quadricep problem.
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Kiwi head coach Rob Walter is looking forward to a bustling summer and hosting a big and popular team like India. “This series marks the start of an exciting summer of Test cricket for the Blackcaps. The squad is largely consistent with the team that competed in England earlier this year [New Zealand won the series 2-1], so it’ll be great to be back together to try and recreate some of that success on home soil.
“We’ve experienced great crowds so far during the white-ball series, and we’re really looking forward to having that support during the Tests," he said.
{{/usCountry}}“We’ve experienced great crowds so far during the white-ball series, and we’re really looking forward to having that support during the Tests," he said.
{{/usCountry}}New Zealand are presently atop the World Test Championship table, and they can strengthen their position with more wins against India, but Walter said that, instead of solely focusing on that, his team was looking to play impressive cricket against Shubman Gill's bunch, who are much below them at 4th in the WTC.
“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."
The first Test kicks off on November 19 at Wellington, followed by the second and last game on November 27 at Christchurch. India have not won a Test series in New Zealand since 2008-09, and head coach Gautam Gambhir was instrumental in that win 17 years ago in the capacity of a player with 445 runs in three games at an average of 89.
The last time these two teams were locked in a Test series in 2024, the Kiwis stunned India in their own backyard with a 3-0 clean sweep. This was the first time in India's history that they were whitewashed in a three-game rubber. Ravindra averaged 51.2 in that series and played some crucial innings, including a century in Bengaluru.
New Zealand's 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