New Zealand vs Bangladesh: Kiwis omit 10-wicket man Ajaz Patel from Test squad

The
off-spinner
Patel
became
only
the
third
player
in
Test
history
—
after
England’s
Jim
Laker
and
India’s
Anil
Kumble
—
to
take
all
10
wickets
in
an
innings
when
he
claimed
10-119
in
the
second
test
against
India
earlier
this
month.

But
he
was
absent
from
New
Zealand’s
13-man
squad
for
a
two-Test
series
against
Bangladesh,
beginning
on
January
1.

The
squad
includes
fast
bowlers
Trent
Boult,
Tim
Southee,
Kyle
Jamieson,
Neil
Wagner
and
Matt
Henry
along
with
medium
pace
all-rounder
Daryl
Mitchell
and
only
one
spin
option,
allrounder
Rachin
Ravindra.

The
tests
will
be
played
at
Bay
Oval
in
Mount
Maunganui
and
Hagley
Oval
in
Christchurch
which
are
expected
to
favor
quicker
bowlers.

“You
do
feel
for
Ajaz
after
his
record-breaking
display
in
India,”
New
Zealand
coach
Gary
Stead
said.

“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.”

Tom
Latham
will
captain
New
Zealand
in
the
absence
of
Kane
Williamson,
who
has
an
elbow
injury,
and
Devon
Conway
will
return
to
the
squad
after
breaking
his
hand
at
the
Twenty20
World
Cup
last
month.

“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.”

New
Zealand
squad:
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.