Left-arm fast bowler Neil Wagner replaced the injured Matt Henry in the New Zealand squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh.
Henry suffered a hamstring injury during the World Cup match against South Africa on November 1, ruling him out for the remainder of the competition. He was expected to recover in time for the trials in Bangladesh, but further examinations and evaluations determined that the injury had not healed sufficiently.
“It will be great to have Neil’s skill and experience on the tour of Bangladesh,” said New Zealand coach Sam Wells. “His record speaks for itself and we all know he is a great competitor. He has played a lot of cricket in the subcontinent and I know he is very excited about the challenge that awaits him.”
Wagner, 37, had missed two rounds of the ongoing Plunkett Shield due to a back injury before returning to action for the Northern Districts earlier in the week. The last of his 63 Tests was also New Zealand’s last in the format, against Sri Lanka in March, even though he was not part of the original high-spin squad named by New Zealand for the tour of Bangladesh.
The first Test against Bangladesh will be New Zealand’s first in the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle from 2023 to 2025. Wagner had finished the previous WTC cycle with 18 wickets.
Most of the New Zealand team, which also participated in the World Cup in India, is currently recovering in Dubai before moving to Sylhet next week. As for the other Bangladesh-bound players, they will depart on November 21 ahead of the inaugural Test on November 28 in Sylhet.
Updated squad: Tim Southee (captain), 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