New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Tuesday announced its T20I and Test squads for the upcoming series against West Indies, with Kane Williamson and Trent Boult being rested for the shortest format.
Williamson has a hip injury and is also in a race to be fit for the two-match Test series in December. Boult has just returned after winning the IPL last week in the United Arab Emirates and will be released from managed isolation only a day before the first T20I in Auckland.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead said it was truly exciting for him to unveil the first squads of the season.
“I think we’re all very aware and appreciative of how much work has gone in to make this home summer possible – in what is clearly unprecedented times,” he said in a press release.
“The season schedule is complex, and for the first time, we’re going to have a BLACKCAPS Test squad assembling on the same day we’re playing a T20 International in another city.
“We’ve got players at quite different stages with some having played almost a month of domestic cricket, some in managed isolation following the IPL and others battling injuries,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kyle Jamieson and Devon Conway are the new faces in Black Caps’ T20I team which will be captained by Tim Southee. But Conway hasn’t been picked in the 13-man Test squad, despite him being the highest run-getter in all three formats in domestic competitions last season.
Jamieson and Ross Taylor will feature only in the first two T20Is before leaving to join the Test squad.
T20I Squad:
Tim Southee (c), Hamish Bennett, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Seifert (wk), Ross Taylor.
Test Squad:
Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk), Will Young.
