The New Zealand Cricket Board will host the Bangladesh cricket team for a two-match Test series as part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship. New Zealand are the reigning Champions of the newly formed Test tournament. They lost 1-0 against India to begin their quest for the second edition of the Test Championship. Therefore, the upcoming series is crucial for New Zealand to move up the points standings. Despite Kane Williamson’s injury, the selectors named a solid Test squad for the Bangladesh series. Let's take a look at New Zealand's Test team for the Bangladesh series.        New Zealand's Test Team for the Bangladesh Series 2022 The New Zealand Cricket Board confirmed the Test squad for their next home series against Bangladesh on Wednesday (December 22). The majority of the players that were part of the India trip in 2021 were selected by the New Zealand selectors. Only Devon Conway, who missed the India series due to injury, has been added to the lineup for this series. Captain Kane Williamson has been rested for the series. He has an elbow injury and is expected to miss international cricket for an extended period of time, according to sources.  Read Six-team Bangabandhu BPL kicks off on January 21 One of the most significant moves was to drop spinner Ajaz Patel for the series. Ajaz had an incredible outing during the India series. He took ten wickets in India's first innings in the Mumbai Test, making him only the third bowler in history to take ten wickets in a single innings. Jim Laker of England collected ten wickets in an innings against Australia in Manchester in 1956, while Anil Kumble of India grabbed ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999.   According to head coach Gary Stead, Ajaz Patel is not an ideal option for the Bangladesh series. Instead, they have put their faith in Rachin Ravindra, a genuine part-time bowler who has yet to make his Test debut for the Blackcaps. In fact, Rachin is the team's lone spinner. Will Somerville and Glenn Phillips are two other players who did not make the squad. Apart from them, the team has all of the expected names. Read Nayeem takes six to stun Central Zone in BCL New Zealand Squad:  Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, and Will Young  Probable New Zealand XI (first match) Tom Latham (c), Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult Read Akram to stay in his BCB position for now, next decision on Dec 24: Nazmul NZ vs BAN 2022: Test Series Fixture The Test series between New Zealand and Bangladesh will begin on January 1, 2022. The first Test match will be contested at the Bay Oval in Tauranga from January 1 to 5. The second Test will be held three days later, from January 9 to 13, at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Both games are scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time). Bottom Line    Bangladesh have met New Zealand in a total of 15 matches in Test cricket. However, they have failed to win a Test match against the Kiwis, having lost 12 of them. New Zealand's current Test setup will put Bangladesh's team to the test. Therefore, New Zealand will be a clear favorite in this home series, with a strong chance of winning all 24 points.          Read Bangladesh-New Zealand Test Series: Three Inspiring Knocks From Bangladeshi Batters

The two-match Bangladesh-New Zealand Test series will begin on January 1. This will be Bangladesh's second series in the second cycle of the ICC Test Championship. Bangladesh's Test team has been under pressure lately after losing a 2-0 home series against Pakistan. A less-experienced Bangladesh side has no realistic chance of making a strong comeback against New Zealand. However, batters can take inspiration from some of Bangladesh's outstanding individual innings. Three of Bangladesh's most inspiring innings against New Zealand are highlighted here. Three Best Performances by Bangladesh Batters in Bangladesh-New Zealand Test Series Over the years, Bangladesh batters have produced some excellent individual performances against New Zealand in the Test format. Take a look at the Tigers' best three Test innings against the Blackcaps. Read:New Zealand vs Bangladesh: Head-to-Head Record, Stats in Test Cricket 3) Mominul Haque (126*)    Match: Bangladesh vs New Zealand (2nd Test, 2013) Venue: SBNCS, Mirpur Result: draw The opening match of the two-match series ended in a draw. As a result, the second match was important for both teams to win the series. Bangladesh chose to bat first and scored 282 runs in the first innings at SBNCS, Mirpur. New Zealand took a 155-run advantage after scoring 437 runs in their first innings. Bangladesh required a strong batting performance in the second innings in order to save the match. Thankfully, Mominul Haque rose to the occasion and scored an unbeaten 126* run knock. The left-handed batter and opener Tamim Iqbal put on a crucial 157-run partnership to help Bangladesh take the lead in the third innings. Bangladesh ended day four with 269/3 on the board, a 114-run lead. However, the fifth day's play was canceled owing to inclement weather. Bangladesh needed Mominul Haque's superb knock to avoid a potential loss. He certainly saved the game with that knock. Read: Akram Khan set to resign from his BCB post, reveals family 2) Mushfiqur Rahim (159)   Match: New Zealand vs Bangladesh (1st Test, 2017) Venue: Basin Reserve, Wellington Result: New Zealand (7 wickets)  In 2017, Bangladesh faced New Zealand in Wellington in the opening Test of a two-match series. New Zealand chose to bat first in order to keep Bangladesh's total small. However, Bangladesh batters shocked the host with a good middle-order batting effort, scoring a massive 595/8d in the first innings. Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan put on a record partnership of 359 runs for the fifth wicket after Bangladesh were reduced to 160/4. They carried it to 519 runs in the innings. Mushfiqur's first-inning contribution with the bat was 159 runs in 260 balls. A big hundred on a New Zealand surface was a genuinely spectacular feat. Bangladesh went on to lose by 7 wickets in the match. However, Mushfiqur Rahim and other Bangladesh batters should take inspiration from such performance in the upcoming Bangladesh-New Zealand Test series. Read Asia Cup: Junior Tigers to leave Dhaka this evening 1) Shakib Al Hasan (217)    Match: New Zealand vs Bangladesh (1st Test, 2017) Venue: Basin Reserve, Wellington Result: New Zealand (7 wickets)   Bangladesh's arguably best-ever player Shakib Al Hasan recorded the highest individual Test innings of 217 runs in the first innings in the 2017 Wellington Test against New Zealand. Shakib produced a 359-run partnership with Mushfiqur in the fifth wicket, ensuring a massive total in the first innings. Bangladesh scored 595/8 and was declared the innings. Read Tigers out for preparation in New Zealand However, they lost the match due to a poor second-inning batting performance. In that innings, Shakib was brilliant with the bat and wasn't afraid to take on Kiwi pacers. Without a doubt, Shakib Al Hasan's 217-run innings is one of the finest in Bangladesh cricket history, and it was a benchmark performance for future generations of cricketers. Way Forward Can Bangladesh make a strong impression against New Zealand in the Test format? Bangladesh's recent performances in the longer format suggest that a victory over New Zealand is impossible. Furthermore, the Bangladesh team has yet to win a match in New Zealand in any format. So, team tigers have little chance against the Blackcaps in the Bangladesh-New Zealand Test series. Therefore, the expectation would be to play good cricket and extend each match to the fifth day. Batters must shoulder most of the burden in this regard, and they can take some inspiration from the three aforementioned individual knocks.  Read Bangladesh Cricket in 2021: Performance Analysis by Series