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Rachin Ravindra is on course to return from injury, after the batter was named as part of the Black Caps’ 14-man squad for two tests against India this month.
Ravindra, 26, hasn’t featured for New Zealand in any format since this year’s 2-1 test series victory over England at Trent
Bridge, after suffering a dislocated shoulder during a commercial shoot before the international season.
While he was named in the Black Caps’ One-Day International (ODI) squad to face India, Ravindra was deemed to need more recovery time if he was to be fit for the two-test series, starting in Wellington next week.
The left-hander will still have to complete his rehabilitation before he’s named at No 4 in the Black Caps batting order, but is aiming to play in the first test.
Along the same lines, opener Devon Conway is in line to return, after also missing the ODI series.
The 35-year-old was scheduled to play the first three matches, but was ruled out after suffering a concussion by colliding with Matt Henry in training at Eden Park.
Should one of Ravindra or Conway be unavailable, Will Young has been named as batting cover for the squad.
In the bowling ranks, Jacob Duffy returns to the test side after missing the tour of England for the birth of his first child.
The 32-year-old was player of the series in his last test outing – New Zealand’s 2-0 victory over the West Indies at the end of 2025 – after picking up 23 wickets at 15.43, including three five-wicket hauls.
That series also saw Duffy go past Sir Richard Hadlee’s record for the most wickets in a calendar year for New Zealand, with 81 strikes across three formats.
Henry has also been named after his workload throughout India’s white-ball tour was managed and will likely line up with just one ODI under his belt.
With the pair of Will O’Rourke (calf, hamstring) and Zak Foulkes (hip) and Ben Sears (ankle) are unavailable to rehabilitate injuries, Blair Tickner has also been included as the group’s spare bowler.
White-ball captain Mitchell Santner is included and will likely compete with Glenn Phillips for the allrounder spot, though conditions in Wellington and Christchurch are not expected to favour spin.
Black Caps test squad
Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will Young
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.
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