Hamish Bennett, who last appeared in black in 2017, has been recalled to the T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against India. The series will start on January 24. Bennett has played one Test and 16 ODIs. He last played an ODI against Bangladesh in Dunedin in May 2017. Bennett, the right-arm medium pacer, is part of a 14-member squad led by Kane Williamson. With this, he is going to make his T20I debut as their key pacers Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson are still recovering from injury.
The other injured players are – Matt Henry (left thumb), Tom Latham (right pinky), Seth Rance (achilles), Doug Bracewell (knee), Will Young (right shoulder), and Adam Milne (ankle). Bennett will be there in the bowling attch alongside Tim Southee, Blair Tickner, and Scott Kuggeleijn. Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi are the two spinners.
Selector Gavin Larsen said, “We’re delighted to have Hamish back in the fold for what will be a huge series against India,” Larsen said. “Over the past few seasons he’s consistently been one of the top domestic white-ball bowlers and we’ve been impressed how he’s been able to evolve his game. We all know he brings good pace and bounce but it’s the clever variations he’s added that make him such a well-rounded T20 bowler.”
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Larsen said the squad had been picked while keeping in mind the T20 World Cup that will take place later in the year in Australia.
“The next few weeks will be really intense for our elite male cricketers and we’re fully aware of the challenges ahead,” Larsen said. “We’re clearly wanting to win the series in front of us while also considering our wider ICC T20 World Cup campaign plan.”
“We see both Daryl and Jimmy as important allrounders in the T20 format. With a travelling squad of just 13 and the need to balance the options for the series, Daryl gets this opportunity against India as a reward for his consistent form for the Blackcaps,” he added.
New Zealand T20I squad: Kane Williamson (Captain), Hamish Bennett, Tom Bruce (games 4-5), Colin de Grandhomme (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.
New Zealand A squad: Tom Bruce (Captain), Todd Astle, Tom Blundell (wk), Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Ollie Newton, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, George Worker.
