‌IND vs NZ | Kane Williamson to miss early stages as Tom Latham set to lead New Zealand in India

The New Zealand Cricket Board has announced a 16-man squad with Tom Latham leading the side after Tom Southee's resignation for a three-match Test series against the Men in Blue starting October 16. Although the squad reads Williamson's name, the stalwart is likely to miss the first Test of the series, which is part of the 2023-25 World Test Championship. The 34-year-old suffered a groin injury during the second Test against Sri Lanka at Galle and since then has been under medical attention. He is expected to leave New Zealand late, only if guaranteed participation is feasible following successful rehabilitation. 

"The advice we've received is that the best course of action is for Kane to rest and rehabilitate now rather than risk aggravating the injury. We're hopeful that if the rehabilitation goes to plan Kane will be available for the latter part of the tour,” Cricket New Zealand’s selector Sam Wells cited. 

This results in an opportunity for Mark Chapman who has been summoned in the squad as a replacement for Williamson. The southpaw has already featured in 78 white ball contests for the Kiwis but is yet to feature in a red-ball game. His inclusion comes on the back of impressive domestic performances in the Plunkett Shield where Chapman slammed a 123 against Otago Volts and 83 against the Central Districts.

Additionally, Michael Bracewell is available exclusively for the first Test before heading back home for the birth of his second child. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi finds a place as his replacement for the last couple of Tests in Pune and Mumbai respectively. 

New Zealand have dropped from the third to the sixth position in the WTC points table after suffering a hostile 2-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka with 37.50 percentage points. They have six more red-ball games left in the bank - three each against India (away) and England (home) - to pull themselves up in the WTC rankings. 

New Zealand squad for Test series against India:

Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell (1st Test only), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi (2nd and 3rd Test only), Tim Southee, Kane Williamson (subject to injury), Will Young