Blackcaps coach Gary Stead has given the strongest indication yet, who will replace Ross Taylor once he pulls stumps.
The veteran batsman announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the home summer, leaving many to wonder who will fill the No.4 role he's owned for 15 years.
Will Young and Devon Conway are locked in a head-to-head for the role, but with Conway to bat at three against Bangladesh in the absence of Kane Williamson, coach Stead says that's a good chance for him to get used to batting lower in the order.
"Devon [Conway] in that position makes a lot of sense for us," Stead tells Newshub.
"We've decided that we want Will [Young] and Tom [Latham] to open, and when Ross retires, we're looking for someone to fill that void."
But for the immediate future, Conway will slot into first-drop as Williamson nurses an elbow injury that has bothered him for two years.
Stead says the skipper won't be back until at least the two-test series against South Africa in February.
"That's in the back of our minds that we'd love him to be ready for.
"But if he's not ready, he's not ready. And we run the risk of putting him right back to where it was again by pushing him too early."
2021 was a year of success stories for the Blackcaps - a team that reached the heights of the World Test Championship victory over India, a test series win against Pakistan and a berth in the T20 World Cup final against Australia.
Stead tells Newshub he is proud of his side's accomplishments this year as well as the depth the team is slowly developing in all formats.
"With all of this, bubbles and [COVID] isolation - Yeah, it's been difficult.
"I don't think people truly understand what it's like to be in touring life at the moment.
"We've been in quite a tight bubble, where you're in your hotel room, or at a cricket ground - and that's it."
And with the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, Stead and the Blackcaps are in for another tough year mixing cricket with hotel rooms.
