Boult, de Grandhomme unavailable as New Zealand name Test squad for India tour
Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme have made themselves unavailable for the Test series against India, sighting bubble fatigue. Both players have spent considerable time in bio-secure environments throughout the year.
“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," said New Zealand coach Gary Stead.
“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.”
SQUAD
Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), 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.
The day New Zealand became the WTC21 Champions
Full Match Highlights: The key moments from the ICC World Test Championship Final 2021 as New Zealand beat India to secure their first WTC mace
With conditions expected to favour spinners, the Black Caps have chosen a spin-heavy squad for the games in Kanpur (25-29 November) and Mumbai (3-7 December), with the inclusion Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville and Mitchell Santner, who will be supported by Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips.
Tom Blundell will assume wicketkeeping duties after the retirement of BJ Watling, whose last game was the ICC World Test Championship final against India.
The Test series will also mark the beginning of New Zealand's WTC title defence.
Speaking on the challenges of the tour, 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.
“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.”