New Zealand Announce Squad For A Tour Of India

New Zealand have appointed Henry Nicholls as the captain of New Zealand A for the upcoming tour of India.  New Zealand Cricket (NZC), on Thursday (September 7), announced a strong 16-member squad for the challenging tour. As many as 13 players in the squad have already represented represented New Zealand in international cricket.

Jeet Raval, who made his Test debut last year, has also been included in the squad for the unofficial Tests but will make way for Glenn Philips for the one-day games. Some other big names in the squad are batsman Colin Munro, fast-bowler Lockie Ferguson and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi.

“There’s quite a range of experience within the group, with a number having already featured for the Black Caps and all of them with a chance to impress,” said selector Gavin Larsen. “It will be a new test for the likes of Sean Solia and Will Young, but it’s an opportunity they’ve earned through performance.”

Former fast-bowler Shane Bond will be the coach for the tour that will have two four-day unofficial Tests and five one-day games. The tour will kick start with the unofficial Tests from September 23 with Vijayawada being the venue for both the games.  All the limited-overs games will be played in Visakhapatnam.

New Zealand A squad:

Henry Nicholls (c), Todd Astle, Tom Blundell (wk), Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips (wk), Seth Rance, Jeet Raval, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Sean Solia, George Worker, Will Young

Schedule:

First four-day match: September 23-26 in Vijayawada

Second four-day match: September 30-October 3 in Vijayawada

First one-day match: October 6 in Visakhapatnam

Second one-day match: October 8 in Visakhapatnam

Third one-day match: October 10 in Visakhapatnam

Fourth one-day match: October 13 in Visakhapatnam

Fifth one-day match: October 15 in Visakhapatnam