NZ vs BAN | Tom Latham named captain for Bangladesh Tests, Ajaz Patel left out
New Zealand have named Tom Latham as their captain for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home, with Kane Williamson ruled out with elbow injury. Ajaz Patel, who bagged a historic 10-fer in Mumbai earlier this month, was the most notable omission in the 13-member squad.
New Zealand are scheduled to host Bangladesh for a two-match Test series, beginning January 1, with the matches to be played in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch respectively. The hosts have announced their squad for the series and Tom Latham has been named as the captain, with regular captain Kane Williamson ruled out with elbow injury.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead backed Latham, saying that the team management have full faith in him for leading the side and also expressed disappointment over absence of Williamson.
"It's great to be back home and at venues we know well, and where we've had success in recent times. It's obviously disappointing not to have Kane available for this series but, as we noted in India, he is undergoing a sustained period of rest followed by rehabilitation, strengthening and gradual batting loading," Stead said.
"We have every confidence in Tom leading the side - he's done an excellent job in the past when called upon.”
Devon Conway has returned to the squad after having missed the game with a hand injury he had sustained during the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final against England in November. Trent Boult and Matt Henry are also back in the squad after being rested for the two-match Test series against India. A surprise move in the selection is the omission of Ajaz Patel, who registered a historic 10-fer in Mumbai earlier this month. Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell retained their place in the team.
"You do feel for Ajaz after his record-breaking display in India. However, we've always applied a horses-for-courses selection policy and believe the players selected best fit the way we want to take on Bangladesh here at home," Stead said.
"We feel having both Rachin and Daryl in the squad gives us a nice balance and the ability to pick a side best suited to the conditions we expect."
New Zealand squad: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young
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