I'm not sure about y'all, but I am getting whiff after whiff of a funky stench coming from Blackcaps coach Mike Hesson's office. Hesson dropped the the Blackcaps squad to tour India earlier this week and on the surface, a few minor changes to the larger squad don't appear to mean a great deal, it just feels like Hesson is trying to be too cute, maybe a wee bit too tricky in juggling his squad. 

As has been the case when a squad's been named and as will be the case in upcoming squads, the first name we're checking for is Martin Guptill. And yup, Guppy is still there. I've said my bit about Guppy right here and simply put; I struggle to see the point of him being there if he's clogging up a batting spot that could be better used to develop a less-experienced lad ... like Jeet Raval.

For whatever reason, bordering on insanity (doing the same thing again and again for the same result, hoping that the result will change), Hesson is persisting with Guptill. We don't decide on who's in the Blackcaps squad so we've simply got to roll with what Hesson wants, although Hesson's results against good opposition don't quite warrant such faith. Guppy has repeatedly had his technique - notably on the front foot - tested in a wide range of conditions and Guptill's failed most tests. In South Africa, Guptill wasn't good enough to fight off quality seam bowling and against India's spin attack that will include Ravi Ashwin  -who many consider the best spinner in the world - it's pretty damn difficult to see Guptill enjoying success.

Allow me to plant the seed; imagine Guppy batting. Ashwin's bowling. Ashwin bowls a straight one, with a dash of turn. Guppy misses, lbw. Or it catches Guppy's bat and he's caught. That's how I see this playing out, most of us can see how this will play out. Oh well.

Jeet Raval and Matt Henry have been left out, with Jimmy Neesham being called into the squad. 

Africa was the perfect opportunity to blood Raval into Test cricket, yet he carried the drinks all tour. Bit of a waste of time if you ask me, although at least Raval got to spend time with the Blackcaps on tour in preparation or anticipation of Guptill's likely failure in India. 

Same goes with Henry, who went to Africa after a great County cricket stint with Worcestershire. Henry was coming in hot, oozing confidence and feeling good about his bowling only to become besties with Raval on the sidelines. 

What's weird is that Henry and Raval are specialists at specific jobs and they were dropped for Neesham's all-round ability. I have a bit of a hunch that Henry would have been valuable in India where the swing and seam movement of South Africa will be absent, meaning that Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell probably won't be as effective. Henry hits the deck, he steams in hard and resembles Neil Wagner more than those three swingers. 

I struggle to see the need to carry two seam bowling 'all-rounders' in India, hence I can't see Neesham playing a whole lot, nor can I see Doug Bracewell getting much game time. The beauty of this Blackcaps team is that Mitchell Santner is the all-rounder and he's a spinning all-rounder, giving the Blackcaps fantastic balance and options. A bowling attack of Santner, Southee, Boult, Wagner and Ish Sodhi is what we should expect to see. 

Neesham could get a look in ahead of Henry Nicholls, however Nicholls is coming off a nice 70-odd against a hostile bowling attack in tough conditions. Neesham's bowling isn't good enough to earn him selection - extending the batting line up - over Southee or Boult, so who knows what the plan is here. 

We know that Indian pitches will help Santner, Sodhi and Wagner. Making Southee and Boult the expendable parts.

So if Neesham's unlikely to play (Bracewell offers bowling cover) he's bascially doing what Raval did in Africa ... so why not keep Raval around in India? Maybe Guptill might perhaps, possibly, could struggle in the first Test and then the second Test, perfectly lending itself to giving Raval a go in his country of birth. Instead, preparing for Guppy's failures means that there will need to be a re-shuffle of the batting line up ... or persisting with Guptill all series.

All the best Guppy.

Oh, Mark Craig's still there as well. Lingering, that's what it feels like Craig is doing and picking him over giving Santner and Sodhi valuable experience in India would be confusing, especially as Craig isn't exactly better than those two. This reinforces my belief that it's tough to see Neesham (and Bracewell) coming close to being in the mix as Craig can bat pretty well and a three-pronged spin attack would be more valuable than rolling out another medium pace bowler.

Excitement is brewing this series because of the challenge that awaits this Blackcaps team, a Blackcaps team that hasn't done a whole lot against quality opposition away from Aotearoa. I'm not sure if I'd describe trying to decipher coach Hesson's selections ahead of this tour as 'exciting' however it does build anticipation, this squad that Hesson has selected just makes me want to see what team is rolled out in that first Test ... regardless of whether it's sensible or has me scratching my noggin'.