New Zealand on Thursday (November 4) named a 15-member squad for their upcoming Test series against India.

The reigning World Test Champions have picked five spinners in the squad for the two Tests. Experienced spin trio Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville and Mitchell Santner will be supported by rising stars Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips.

The series, which is part of the second WTC cycle, will get underway in Kanpur on November 25 while Mumbai will host the second Test from December 3-7.

The rest of the squad includes familiar faces with the regular Test top five and Will Young filling the batting positions, and Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson providing the pace options.

The Kiwis will be without the services of Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme, who have made themselves unavailable for selection due to the prospect of further time in bio-secure bubbles.

“Trent has already spent the best part of 60 days in hard managed isolation this year, while Colin had been on the road since May until recently returning home from Pakistan,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.

“From talking to both players it was clear the best option for them was to be left out of this Test tour and for them to instead focus on being ready for the New Zealand home summer,” he added.

Speaking about the squad, Gary Stead said: "It's fair to say we're expecting spin-friendly conditions and it's great to have a range of options in this department."

"The success of our spinners on recent tours to the sub-continent has been encouraging and we hope they can once again feature prominently.

"It's really exciting to begin the second instalment of the WTC and we know there'll be an extra incentive for all the teams we play following our win in the inaugural competition," he added.

New Zealand Test squad:

Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Will Young, Neil Wagner