New Zealand has announced the 15-member squad for the ICC T20 World Cup, which is all set to take place in UAE from October 17. Veteran batsman Ross Taylor has not been added to the squad along with the all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme. The squad will be led by Kane Williamson.
Taylor, who has played 102 T20Is, has not featured in the T20I format since November 2020 when New Zealand played West Indies at home as well. They added three spinners – Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Todd Astle. They have also included four pace bowlers in the squad – Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Kyle Jamieson – along with all-round options like Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham.
David White, the NZC chief executive, stated, “The need to safeguard the well-being of our players and support staff is now very real, and we’ve endeavoured to do this by carefully managing their workloads over this winter’s massive playing programme. I’m satisfied we’ve selected strong squads for all our touring commitments this winter. As the Black Caps proved in England earlier this year, we have good depth in the New Zealand game and I’m confident all the squads chosen will acquit themselves well.”
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“It’s a pragmatic approach,” he further said. “We’ve always tried to be realistic about the IPL and this particular issue is very much a one-off, caused by a unique set of circumstances.”
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s near four-month Asian tour will start with the series against Bangladesh and they will leave on August 23. Tom Latham will lead the squad for Bangladesh, where they will play five T20Is. Notably, none of the players named in the squad for the India tour and ICC World T20 will take part in the series against Bangladesh as well.
NZC stated that “Ross Taylor was selected for the three ODIs in Pakistan but, with the brief nature of the one-week series and the length of quarantine protocols, it was mutually agreed he would remain at home to prepare for the Indian Test tour and upcoming home summer.”
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Squad for Bangladesh T20Is and Pakistan ODIs: Tom Latham (c/wk), Finn Allen, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell (wk), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry (ODI only), Scott Kuggeleijn, Cole McConchie, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears (T20 only), Blair Tickner, Will Young
Squad for Pakistan T20Is: Tom Latham (c/wk), Finn Allen, Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell (wk), Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Ajaz Patel, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears, Blair Tickner, Will Young
New Zealand squad for T20 World Cup and India T20Is: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
