Left-arm pacer Trent Boult and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme were the two prominent names missing from New Zealand’s squad announced on Thursday for the forthcoming two-match Test series in India.
NZC confirmed the news on two players via a media release, stating:
“Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme made themselves unavailable for selection due to the prospect of further time in bio-secure bubbles and Managed Isolation.”
Coach Gary Stead was respectful of the two players’ decision, reiterating that player welfare remains a priority for the Kiwis through the pandemic times. Boult, Stead made it a point to mention, has spent “best part of 60 days in hard managed isolation this year”, while De Grandhomme “had been on the road since May” before he returned from the called-off Pakistan tour.
Among the two players, Boult, however, is part of the three-match T20I series that New Zealand will play just after the end of the T20 World Cup in the UAE and prior to the Test series.
In a congested tour, the opening T20I starts only three days after the end of the World Cup in the UAE and the first Test begins only four days after the conclusion of T20Is.
Jaipur, Ranchi and Kolkata will be hosting the T20Is on November 17, 19 and 21, respectively, before the Test matches in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7).
A squad for the T20Is was pre-announced by the Kiwis. Focusing on the Tests now, they’ve retained – outside Boult and De Grandhomme – their core group of players for the tour that begins their campaign in the new World Test Championship cycle.
Kane Williamson and company, who are the defending WTC champions following their win in the final over India in Southampton, will be eyeing a successful start.
They’ve picked the trio of spinners, featuring Ajaz Patel, William Somerville and Mitchell Santner, for the series. Uncapped Rachin Ravindra and one-Test-old Glenn Phillips are also included in the touring contingent.
New Zealand last won a Test match in India back in 1988 and have clinched victories in only two of their 34 Tests in the country, including 16 losses and 16 draws.
