Conway, Ravindra and Blundell race to be fit as New Zealand name their Test squad for India

New Zealand have named a 14-man squad for the two-Test series against India with three players still working back from injury

Tom Latham will captain the side, and Tom Blundell, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra have all been included while they complete their recoveries. All three are expected to be available for the opening match at the Basin Reserve on 19 November.

Blundell is managing a quadriceps problem, Conway is recovering from concussion and Ravindra has been working back from a shoulder injury that has kept him out of the white-ball matches against India.

Jacob Duffy comes back into the group. Ben Sears, Zak Foulkes and Will O'Rourke are all unavailable, and BJ Watling takes over as batting coach in time for the series.

Three working back from injury

Ravindra has not played against India in either white-ball format. He hurt the shoulder in a fall while taking a catch during a promotional shoot in September, and the Tests are his first chance to return.

Conway was concussed in a training-ground collision with Matt Henry during the one-day series. Both players sat out the last two ODIs, and both have been named in the Test squad.

Blundell, who keeps wicket, has played only one domestic match since June as he works through the quadriceps injury. New Zealand have carried all three rather than replace them, on the expectation that they come through the next week.

Duffy returns as three seamers miss out

Duffy's recall is the one change of substance from the side that toured England earlier this year. He missed that trip to be home for the birth of his first child.

Sears is out with an ankle injury and Foulkes with a hip problem. O'Rourke is on a return-to-play programme and is working towards the series in Australia next month rather than this one.

That leaves Henry, Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Nathan Smith and Blair Tickner as the seam options, with Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips covering spin.

Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell and Latham make up the rest of the specialist batting, with Conway and Ravindra adding to the top order once they are cleared.

Watling steps in as batting coach

Watling begins in the role on 16 November, three days before the first Test, replacing Luke Ronchi. Jacob Oram continues as bowling coach under head coach Rob Walter.

The batting group he inherits will face an India attack with Jasprit Bumrah available again, after he was withdrawn from the previous Championship series.

Championship points on the line

New Zealand sit second in the World Test Championship standings, behind South Africa and ahead of Australia. India are fourth, which gives the two Tests a weight beyond the series itself.

Walter said the series "marks the start of an exciting summer of Test cricket" and described the squad as "largely consistent with the team that competed in England earlier this year".

"Valuable Championship points are on the line of course," the coach said, adding that the focus remains on "playing our best cricket against a high-quality team like India".

First red-ball meeting since 2024

These are the first Tests between the sides since New Zealand's 3-0 win in India in 2024, a sweep completed away from home.

They followed it with a 2-1 series win in England earlier this year, after which Kane Williamson retired from international cricket.

India arrive under Shubman Gill, whose squad was named last month. For New Zealand the two Tests open a long home and away stretch that continues with four matches in Australia from early December.

The first Test begins at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on 19 November, with the second starting at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 27 November.