Rachin Ravindra has not played since his shoulder injury in September, and New Zealand have named him for the India Tests
Ravindra, Devon Conway and Tom Blundell are all in New Zealand’s 14 for the two Tests against India, and all three are still recovering from injuries.
Nov 11, 2026
Rachin Ravindra has not played for New Zealand since he dislocated his right shoulder in September, and he is in their squad for the two Tests against India all the same. He is one of three players in the 14 still working back from an injury. Devon Conway and the wicketkeeper Tom Blundell are the others.
New Zealand Cricket said all three “are working through their respective injuries and aiming to be available for the first Test”. That starts at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on 19 November. The second Test is at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from 27 November.
Three injuries, eight days
Ravindra hurt the shoulder diving for a catch during a promotional shoot in Auckland on 16 September. It has cost him the five-match T20I series against India and the ODI series that is still going on, so his first game of the home summer could be a Test. Picking a batter who has not played since the injury is a gamble, though New Zealand clearly expect the shoulder to be right in time.
Conway collided with Matt Henry going for a catch at Eden Park the day before the first ODI and has been out with concussion since. Blundell has a quadriceps injury. He is on 48 Test caps, so if he is fit for both matches he will play his 50th in Christchurch.
The rest of the squad is close to the one that won the series in England in June. Kane Williamson retired midway through that tour, and three fast bowlers from it are missing now. Ben Sears has an ankle injury and Zak Foulkes a hip problem, while Will O’Rourke is still on a return-to-play programme, with New Zealand keen to have him right for the four-Test tour of Australia that follows this series. Jacob Duffy, who missed the England trip on paternity leave, is the one new name.
The last time India saw them in whites
This is the first Test series between the two sides since New Zealand won 3-0 in India in 2024. It was the first time India had lost every Test of a home series of three matches or more.
There is more on it than pride. New Zealand lead the World Test Championship table, with South Africa and Australia close behind on percentage of points. India are fourth and well adrift. They have seven Tests left in the cycle, these two and then five at home against Australia from January, and they need to win most of them to have a chance of reaching the final in June 2027.
Rob Walter, the head coach, mentioned the points and then played them down. “Valuable Championship points are on the line of course, but our focus remains on playing our best cricket against a high-quality team like India,” he said.
Walter also has a new batting coach on the way. BJ Watling, who takes over from Luke Ronchi, joins the squad on 16 November, three days before the first Test.
India’s bowlers are short of overs
India’s own preparation has been soaked. The last two days of India A’s final four-day game against New Zealand A in Lincoln were washed out, and the three-match series finished 0-0. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja both missed out on bowling time in that match, so both go to Wellington with very little red-ball cricket behind them.
The batters fared better. Yashasvi Jaiswal made his second hundred of the series in Lincoln, and Shubman Gill and KL Rahul have left the ODI group to get ready for the Tests.
New Zealand’s squad
Tom Latham (captain), Tom Blundell (wicketkeeper), Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will Young.