New Zealand opener Martin Guptill, who missed the fifth ODI against India in Wellington, has also been ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I series, which begins at the same venue on Wednesday (February 6).
Seam-bowling allrounder James Neesham, who was initially left out of the Blackcaps T20I squad, has now been drafted in as Guptill’s replacement.
Guptill sustained an injury while throwing a ball during the practice-session on the eve of the Wellington ODI. He will return home to Auckland and rest ahead of three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, scheduled to begin on February 13 in Napier.
“Unfortunately Martin hasn’t recovered in time for this Twenty20 series which is very condensed with three games over five days,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.
“It’s a shame as he’s obviously a big part of our white-ball sides, but we’ve got to look at the big picture and ensure he gets the injury right,” he added.
Henry Nicholls isn’t part of the T20I squad, which means either Kane Williamson or wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert will open with Colin Munro. In the absence of both Guptill and Nicholls, the Kiwis will have their fourth different opening combination in four limited-overs games.
New Zealand squad:
Kane Williamson (c), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1 and 2), James Neesham, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner (game 3).
