Herath, Rathour link up with New Zealand for short-term roles

Rangana Herath and Vikram Rathour will be part of New Zealand's coaching setup, which is set to play six Tests in Asia over the next two months.

Herath will be present as spin-bowling coach for New Zealand's next three Tests - one against Afghanistan and two in Sri Lanka - while Rathour will only be with the squad for the one-off Afghanistan Test in Greater Noida, India, starting September 9.

"Both men are held in high regard in the world of cricket and I know our players are really looking forward to the opportunity to learn from them," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.

"For our three left-arm orthodox spinners in particular, Ajaz [Patel], Mitch [Santner] and Rachin [Ravindra], having the chance to work with Rangana across three Tests on the subcontinent will be hugely beneficial.

"Rangana has taken over 100 Test wickets in Galle which is the venue of our two Tests against Sri Lanka and so his knowledge of that venue will be priceless."

After the Sri Lanka tour in the latter half of this month, the New Zealand team will return to India for three Test matches in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai. Out of these six Tests, only the one against Afghanistan will not count towards the World Test Championship (WTC).

In addition to Ajaz, Santner, and Ravindra, New Zealand will also have off-break spin options in Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips for the Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Tests. The squad for the India Tests has yet to be announced.

Herath, who has taken 433 Test wickets in 93 matches, replaces former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who is now one of the five mentors appointed by the PCB to improve their domestic cricket. Herath was previously a spin-bowling coach with the Bangladesh side.

Rathour, who played six Tests for India, was most recently India's batting coach. His contract ended when India won the T20 World Cup in Barbados in June, and he also served as a national selector in 2012.

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