Kelly earns an upgrade to a full-time contract for the first time in his career and New Zealand coach Rob Walter said the 33-year-old thoroughly deserved the opportunity on the back of some strong efforts at domestic level.
“Nick’s been a standout performer in domestic cricket for several seasons now and it’s testament to his hard work that he’s earned this first contract at this stage of his career,” Walter said.
“Introducing players like Nick to international cricket a bit later certainly has its advantages in terms of the player knowing their game and being able to trust themselves to perform under pressure.”
New Zealand men’s centrally contracted players: Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher, Zak Foulkes, Mitchell Hay, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Nick Kelly, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will Young