Former Blackcap Ian Smith has named his New Zealand XI ahead of the first Test against India this Thursday.
Smithy has gone with three spinners in the XI, given India have also picked several spinners, indicating the surface will be a traditional sub-continent pitch.
Ian Smith’s XI for New Zealand:
- Tom Latham
- Will Young
- Kane Williamson
- Ross Taylor
- Henry Nicholls
- Tom Blundell
- Rachin Ravindra
- William Somerville
- Ajaz Patel
- Kyle Jamieson
- Neil Wagner
The top five “were a given”, with Smith relying on fiery paceman Neil Wagner to bring heat and pressure, as he has the ability to bowl for long periods of time.
“You’ve got to have Wagner so when you get in trouble, he can try and bowl you out of it with his stamina,” he said.
Smith was saddened to see the likes of Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah being rested, puzzled as to why they would rest them for a Test series.
“India have left out Kohli and Sharma, it intrigues me actually that we’re resting people in test cricket these days, that disappoints me greatly.”
The first of two Tests gets underway on Thursday, 5pm (NZ time) in Kanpur.
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