Devon Conway is keeping an open mind to the possibility of taking on Blackcaps wicketkeeping duties at the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in the UAE.
As part of a breakout home summer of 2021, Conway's impressive start to international cricket with the bat was added to by taking the gloves for the Blackcaps' final home T20s - one against Australia and three against Bangladesh.
Conway, 30, is not a specialist wicketkeeper, so there would be some risk in selecting him as the Blackcaps' first-choice gloveman for the T20 World Cup.
Tim Seifert is the only specialist wicketkeeper in the Blackcaps World Cup squad, while Glenn Phillips could also take the gloves, although his preference is to play as a specialist batsman.
Installing Conway as wicketkeeper, as well as having him bat in the top order, would give the Blackcaps room to play another all-rounder - a potential luxury in the foreign conditions of the UAE.
But Conway says he's more than up to the task of keeping wicket in the spin-friendly conditions on offer.
"I haven't done heaps of work with the gloves recently, due to the finger injury I've had," he says. "I wish I had done a little bit more recently, but it's allowed me that chance just to get that finger fully recovered.
"Once I get out of isolation, I'll certainly be doing some keeping drills, alongside Luke Ronchi and Tim Seifert.
"At this point I haven't really heard what my role might be. We've just got to be open minded and if the opportunity presents itself, I'll try [and] make sure that I'm ready to take those with both hands.
"[It's] pretty exciting to see what happens in the future."
While all of Conway's early success has come in the familiar conditions of New Zealand over the home summer, and in England for his test debut and World Test Championship victory, the UAE presents another challenge.
Conway describes his experience in the UAE and Asia as "little to none", but has been able to call on Blackcaps batting coach and fellow Wellingtonian Ronchi during his time off.
"I've been working quite closely with Luke Ronchi, he's been around Wellington," he adds.
"He's had quite a fair bit of experience playing in the UAE. I've had lots of conversations with him around certain game plans, what to expect, what a certain way of scoring looks like.
"There's been quite a lot of conversations, but I suppose sometimes it's a lot better experiencing that in the nets. I'm looking forward to getting over there and training those skills."
The Blackcaps open their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 27 at Sharjah.
