Vettori likely to make return to international cricket during India series

Former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori marked his long-awaited return to the first-class arena by taking five wickets but said that the visit of West Indies in December is likely to be too early for him to return to the national team.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Vettori, while making great strides in his recovery from a second operation on an Achilles tendon injury, still wants to tread warily for a while yet.

He said that he needed to do this day in, day out for a long time, adding that he still thinks he is a wee way away from overall fitness and conditioning.

Vettori added that Ish Sodhi did really well in Bangladesh and the team would want to persevere with him.

New Zealand will play three tests, the first starting on December 3 in Dunedin, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20s against the West Indies, the report said.

The former captain said that even before he had his surgery, coach Mike Hesson was trying to map out this season with him, and probably the Indian tour is where he would start again.

India will begin their tour in mid-January, the report added.