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New Zealand cricket on Wednesday announced a 13-member squad for the Test series against Bangladesh, which is scheduled to start on New Year's. With New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson ruled out with an elbow injury, Tom Latham will lead the side for the series. Notably, this will be the first time that the opener will lead the BlackCaps for an entire series.
Since New Zealand will be hosting Bangladesh for the Test series, the selectors focused on building an all seam-attack squad. Pacers Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry are all have been included in the squad for the 2-match Test series.
Devon Conway, who broke his hand in the ICC T20 World Cup semi-final against England in November has returned to the squad.
The focus on an all seam attack meant that the Mumbai Test star Ajaz Patel, who took a 10-wicket haul in the first innings at Wankhede, couldn't find a place in the squad.
The decision to not include Patel surprised a few cricket pundits. Cricket writer Ayaz Memon was also surprised with the exclusion of the off-spinner and jokingly tweeted that Ajaz Patel should have stayed back in Mumbai.
New Zealand Test Squad: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young.