Kane Williamson has been left out of the New Zealand cricket team for the Bangladesh Tests as he continues to be troubled by an elbow injury while Ajaz Patel has also been omitted.
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Kane Williamson has been left out of the New Zealand Cricket Team for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh as he continues to be troubled by an elbow injury. But, the biggest surprise was the omission of Ajaz Patel from the team. The left-arm spinner created history in the second Test in Mumbai when he picked all 10 wickets in an innings. Ajaz Patel joined Anil Kumble and Jim Laker as the only bowlers to have taken the ‘Perfect 10’ in an innings. The Mumbai-born spinner took 14 wickets in the match which was the best haul by a spinner in Tests against India.
The omission of Ajaz Patel is shocking. But, New Zealand Cricket head coach Gary Stead insisted that the team always followed a horses-for-courses rotation policy. Along with the omission of Kane Williamson and Ajaz Patel, Devon Conway comes back to the team after missing the India series due to a broken hand. Conway sustained the injury during the ICC World T20 2021 semifinal against England in Abu Dhabi.
Tom Latham will be the captain of the New Zealand cricket team in the absence of Williamson. When one looks at the spin options, only Rachin Ravindra has been included. With New Zealand’s pitches assisting pace bowlers, it was obvious that New Zealand would pack their team with pacers. Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, and Kyle Jamieson feature predominantly. Along with the famed quartet, Matt Henry also features in the list.
With Colin de Grandhomme not featuring in the series, Daryl Mitchell will be the bowling all-rounder. New Zealand will play two Tests against Bangladesh that will be part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle. The Tests will be played from January 1. The venues will be the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
The omission of Ajaz Patel has caused plenty of disappointment in cricket fans. With the spinner fresh from creating history at the Wankhede stadium, it was felt that Ajaz Patel would be on the side as the premier spinner option. With no Mitchell Santner in the side, Ajaz Patel would have come into the team. But, the inclusion of Rachin Ravindra means that New Zealand is backing the youngster to the hilt.
Coach Gary Stead, in the New Zealand Cricket Press Release, stated that it would be disappointing for Ajaz. “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. 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,” Stead said.
The New Zealand head coach also expressed disappointment over the unavailability of Williamson. “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. We have every confidence in Tom leading the side. He’s done an excellent job in the past when called upon,” Stead said.
Tom Latham (captain), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young
Jan 1-Jan 5: 1st Test, Bat Oval, Mount Maunganui. Starts at 3:30 AM IST
Jan 9-Jan 13: 2nd Test, Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Starts at 3:30 AM IST
