Wellington [New Zealand]: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the Test series against Bangladesh starting at Bay Oval on New Year’s Day. In the absence of Williamson, batter Tom Latham will be leading the BlackCaps in the series. Following an impressive start to his Test career in England, Devon Conway returns to the squad. He suffered a hand injury in the ICC T20 World Cup semi-final against England in November. There’s no space for a specialist spinner in the 13-man squad, meaning left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel misses out despite his heroics in India, with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell covering the spin and seam all-rounder spots, respectively. “It’s great to be back home and at venues, we know well, and where we’ve had success in recent times,” said New Zealand coach Gary Stead as per an official release. “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 load. We have every confidence in Tom leading the side – he’s done an excellent job in the past when called upon,” he added. New Zealand Test squad: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young.
