New Zealand include five spinners for India tour, Trent Boult unavailable due to bubble fatigue
Wellington, Nov 4: Senior pacer Trent Boult has made himself unavailable for the two-Test series against India due to bio-bubble fatigue as New Zealand on Thursday named five spinners in its 15-man squad for the tour, starting November 25 in Kanpur.
Both Boult and pace-bowling all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme decided to skip the tour, having stayed extended period in multiple bio-bubbles.
"Boult and Colin de Grandhomme made themselves unavailable for selection due to the prospect of further time in bio-secure bubbles and Managed Isolation," New Zealand Cricket's official website stated.
Black Caps head coach Gary Stead said players' welfare remains paramount.
"Trent has already spent the best part of 60 days in hard managed isolation this year, while Colin had been on the road since May until recently returning home from Pakistan.
"From talking to both players it was clear the best option for them was to be left out of this Test tour and for them to instead focus on being ready for the New Zealand home summer," Stead said.
The Blackcaps will travel with five spinners, including the seasoned trio of Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville and Mitchell Santner. They will be supported by youngsters Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips.
The spin-heavy attack makes sense since conditions in the series-opener (Kanpur, November 25-29) and the second Test (Mumbai, December 3-7) are expected to suit the slower bowlers.
The rest of the squad has a familiar feel with the regular Test top five and Will Young filling the batting positions. Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson are the pace options.
Glenn Phillips has been selected in the Test squad for the first time since debuting against Australia as a late replacement in 2020 when the Blackcaps camp was struck by illness on the eve of the New Year's Test in Sydney.
The 21-year-old Ravindra made his New Zealand debut in a T20I against Bangladesh in September and, although, he toured England with the Test side earlier this year, he is yet to play in the longest form of the game.
Patel and Somerville are set to lead the spin attack and have a particularly impressive record when playing together, combining for 28 wickets in their three Tests as teammates: against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2018, and Sri Lanka in Galle and Colombo in 2019.
The India Test series will be the first for New Zealand without wicket-keeping stalwart BJ Watling since his retirement following the WTC final win in England. Tom Blundell is set to take over the Test gloves.
Stead said they'd very much taken a horses-for-courses approach when picking the tour squad.
"Touring India is one of the greatest experiences in cricket and I know our guys are really looking forward to the challenge. It's fair to say we are expecting spin-friendly conditions and it's great to have a range of options in this department," Stead said.
The coach is confident that New Zealand spinners would do well.
"The success of our spinners on recent tours to the sub-continent has been encouraging and we hope they can once again feature prominently.
"It's really exciting to begin the second instalment of the WTC and we know there'll be an extra incentive for all the teams we play following our win in the inaugural competition."
Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Will Young, Neil Wagner.
The squad for the team's Test Series against @BCCI starting later this month is here. Details | https://t.co/R4PIYBbIqt #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/lo4vGbNaMm
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 4, 2021
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Karnataka power tussle: BJP leader calls Siddaramaiah 'Sultan for 15 days'
Bengaluru/Bagalkot (PTI): In the midst of the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, senior BJP leader and MP Govind Karjol called CM Siddaramaiah "Pandrah din-ka-Sultan" (Sultan for 15 days), and said after that, he will not be the chief minister of the state.
Speculation has once again surfaced within the Congress party and political circles about a possible decision on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, once the results for Assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, are announced.
"With the fight for the CM chair in the Congress, there seems to be no administration at Vidhana Soudha. The result for Siddaramaiah's CM chair fight will also be declared, along with election results for five states (four states and one union territory) and bypoll results for Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly seats in Karnataka," Karjol, a former Deputy CM, said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "As per today's information, Siddaramaiah is a Sardar for fifteen days, he is Pandrah din-ka-Sultan, after that Siddaramaiah will not be the chief minister of the state."
Stating that Shivakumar is ready to take up the top job, the MP said that this is the reason Siddaramaiah's supporters have gone to New Delhi to meet the Congress President.
"Already 40-odd legislators have lobbied in support of Siddaramaiah; about 50 are lobbying in support of Shivakumar. Amid this fight for the CM chair, the administration has completely collapsed," he said, urging the government to focus on addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer by releasing at least Rs 50 crore per district.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary (in charge of Karnataka) Randeep Surjewala in New Delhi and requested them to address the speculation regarding the change of leadership in Karnataka.
Subsequently, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa too met the party leadership in Delhi.
Both Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa are considered close to Siddaramaiah.
While MLAs and leaders who want Shivakumar to be elevated as CM have recently claimed they expect some "sweet news" by May 15, which is their leader's birthday.
Meanwhile, a team of 40 MLAs is preparing to visit New Delhi to press the Congress high command for a Cabinet reshuffle.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka hit out at the Congress leadership for indulging in "power tussle" instead of addressing the people's concerns. He called the government "anti-people" and "dead" to the people of the state.
With the fight for the CM chair, the ruling Congress in Karnataka seems to be shifting to Delhi. Congress MLAs are repeatedly touring Delhi, upset over the state leadership amid a power struggle between the CM and Deputy CM. This proves that there is no value for the state leadership," he said.
Pointing out that the Deputy CM Shivakumar was not present at the recent special cabinet meeting, which decided on internal reservation among SCs, the opposition leader said, "If the cabinet meeting was held purposely, despite knowing that Shivakumar was in Delhi, it proves that there are factions within the party"
"This government is dead in a way," he said, as he hit out at the Congress MLAs and Ministers, including Shivakumar, for doing "Delhi Yatras" instead of addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer, picking up in the state.
