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Left-arm fast bowler Neil Wagner has replaced the injured Matt Henry in New Zealand’s squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh.
Henry had picked up a hamstring injury during the World Cup game against South Africa on November 1, and was thus ruled out of the rest of the competition. He was expected to get fit in time for the Tests in Bangladesh, but on further scans and assessments, it was deemed that the injury had not sufficiently healed.
“It’ll be great to have Neil’s skill and experience on the tour of Bangladesh,” Sam Wells, New Zealand’s selector, said. “His record speaks for itself, and we all know what a great competitor he is. He’s played plenty of cricket in the sub-continent, and I know he’s really excited by the challenge ahead.”
Wagner, 37, had missed two rounds of the ongoing Plunkett Shield due to a back injury before returning to action for Northern Districts earlier in the week. The last of his 63 Tests was also New Zealand’s last in the format – against Sri Lanka this March – even as he wasn’t part of the original spin-heavy squad named by New Zealand for the Bangladesh tour.
The first Test against Bangladesh will be New Zealand’s first of the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle from 2023-25. Wagner had finished the previous WTC cycle with 18 wickets.
The majority of the New Zealand squad, who had also featured in the World Cup in India, are currently recovering in Dubai before they relocate to Sylhet next week. As for the other Bangladesh-bound players, they depart on November 21 ahead of the opening Test from November 28 in Sylhet.
Updated squad: Tim Southee (capt), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Neil Wagner
