Tom Latham has been named Blackcaps captain for the Walton Test Series against Bangladesh, starting at Bay Oval on New Year's Day.

With regular captain Kane Williamson ruled out with an elbow injury, Latham will lead the side for an entire series for the first time, having stepped in to fill the role on four previous occasions.

A return to home conditions means the Blackcaps first home squad of 2021-22 has a seam bowling focus, with Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry all included.

Following an impressive start to his Test career in England, Devon Conway returns to the squad after breaking his hand in the ICC T20 World Cup semi-final against England in November.

There's no space for a specialist spinner in the 13-man squad, meaning left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel misses out despite his heroics in India, with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell covering the spin and seam all-rounder spots, respectively.

Blackcaps coach Gary Stead is confident he has all bases covered for both Bay Oval and Hagley Oval.

'It's great to be back home and at venues we know well, and where we've had success in recent times,” says Stead.

'It's obviously disappointing not to have Kane available for this series but, as we noted in India, he is undergoing a sustained period of rest followed by rehabilitation, strengthening and gradual batting loading.

'We have every confidence in Tom leading the side - he's done an excellent job in the past when called upon.

'You do feel for Ajaz after his record-breaking display in India. However, we've always applied a horses-for-courses selection policy and believe the players selected best fit the way we want to take on Bangladesh here at home.”

Stead also noted the inclusion of both Ravindra and Mitchell.

'We feel having both Rachin and Daryl in the squad gives us a nice balance and the ability to pick a side best suited to the conditions we expect.”

It's a slightly later than usual start for the Blackcaps home summer, with the Test at Bay Oval their first in Aotearoa since winning the ICC World Test Championship last season.

'We all remember the epic finish against Pakistan at Bay Oval last season and it's great to be playing Test cricket there again this summer,” says Stead.

BLACKCAPS Test Squad

Tom Latham (c) - Canterbury

Tom Blundell (wk) - Wellington Firebirds

Trent Boult - Northern Districts

Devon Conway - Wellington Firebirds

Matt Henry - Canterbury

Kyle Jamieson - Auckland Aces

Daryl Mitchell - Canterbury

Henry Nicholls - Canterbury

Rachin Ravindra - Wellington Firebirds

Tim Southee - Northern Districts

Ross Taylor - Central Stags

Neil Wagner - Northern Districts

Will Young - Central Stags