New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has revealed that Rangana Herath, a former Sri Lankan international, and Vikram Rathour, the previous batting coach of India, will accompany the team in its one-off Test against Afghanistan in Noida.
Herath has been named the spin bowling coach for 3 upcoming Tests against India and 2 Tests in Sri Lanka. He would take over from Saqlain Mushtaq who has accepted a post in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Rathour will be part of the New Zealand camp for its single Test match with Afghanistan set to run from 9th September to 13th September.
In late 90s, Rathour was an Indian player who played six Test matches for India .Besides he was also chosen as a selector for Indian cricket team in 2012 while he served as a head coach alongside Rahul Dravid where the entire unit made their presence felt across all formats by reaching the final stages of World Test Championship, ODI world cup finale besides clinching T20 world cup title.
Getting out into the subcontinent, Herath must have bowled for quite a while and therefore he has become the highest left-arm orthodox Test-spinner. If New Zealand were to do well in Asian conditions they would register this fast bowler as their main weapon.
Tim Southee is an experienced pace bowler who will captain New Zealand along with batting great Kane Williamson. Others in the team are Devon Conway, Glen Phillips, Rachin Ravindra plus vice-captain Tom Latham.
This Test match against Afghanistan will also serve as a preparatory game before the Sri Lanka two-match series which is part of World Test Championship.
After series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand will go back to India for three matches with Rohit Sharma’s team; it’s a WTC calendar match.
At present, New Zealand are currently ranked number three on the ICC WTC points table behind last season’s final match players India and Australia.
They have some excellent experience on their coaching panel and aim to provide huge competition for the home teams respectivley as they fight their way through towards top two positions on the World Test Championship table.