Colin de Grandhomme replacement: New Zealand have made a couple of late changes to their squad for the two-match Test series.
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New Zealand have had to make a couple of changes to their 13-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies starting from December 3.
While spinner Ajaz Patel will miss the first Test in Hamilton as he is yet to recover from his calf injury, all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme will miss the entire series due to a bone bruising to his right foot.
While Patel’s last Test appearance was the first Test against India in Wellington earlier this year, de Grandhomme’s previous Test was the second one against India Christchurch.
Colin de Grandhomme replacement
The Kiwi selectors have included two members of the T20I side as replacements for Patel and de Grandhomme in the Test series.
All-rounder Mitchell Santner, who will lead New Zealand in the third T20I against West Indies in less than a week from now, has been reinstated into the Test as Patel’s like-for-like replacement. The 28-year old southpaw’s last Test appearance was during the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne last year.
ICYMI | Coach Gary Stead has confirmed Mitchell Santner as our T20 captain for game 3 on Monday with Tim Southee heading to Hamilton to prepare for the Test series.
Santner has played 44 T20 Internationals & is ranked 6th in the @ICC T20I bowling rankings.#NZvWI #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/szTzzuMzod
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 25, 2020
De Grandhomme, on the other hand, has also been replaced by a like-for-like player in Daryl Mitchell. Having made his Test debut against England in Hamilton last year, Mitchell would be looking to add to his solitary Test outing.
“The unavailability of Colin [de Grandhomme] and Ajaz [Patel] has obviously had a flow on effect to our T20 squad who are providing the replacement players for the Test squad,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said in a statement. “I highlighted last week how tight and complex the schedule was – so when you throw in some injuries, it really begins to challenge how you juggle your resources.
“Mitch [Mitchell Santner] and Daryl [Mitchell] will be available for the final T20 game, before linking up with the Test squad on Tuesday where we will monitor them closely to ensure they’re fit and fresh ahead of the first Test on Thursday,” Stead added.
