New Zealand picked seven frontline pace bowlers, including a fit-again Adam Milne for their upcoming five-match T20 International series against reigning World Champions India starting October 22 in Christchurch.
White-ball captain Mitchell Santner will lead an expanded 16-man T20I squad for the action-packed five-game series spread across 11 days in four cities.
According to the media release issued by the NZC, 13 players from the squad that finished runner-up to India in this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup have been named for the home series, including spin all-rounder Michael Bracewell and paceman Milne, who were sidelined from the tournament with respective injuries.
The 34-year-old Milne, who has accumulated 243 T20 caps (56 of those international), last played for the Black Caps against Zimbabwe over a year ago, and bolsters a line-up of seasoned T20I pace bowlers, including Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, and Jacob Duffy, as well as young guns Zak Foulkes and Nathan Smith.
Batting all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, who dislocated his right shoulder during a promotional shoot last week, has been ruled out of the T20I series. Ravindra’s rehabilitation is expected to take around six weeks, with an aim to be available for the ODI series against India starting at Eden Park in Auckland on November 4.
Hard-hitting openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen will be reunited at the top of the order for the first time since their impressive T20 World Cup campaign, which showcased one of the greatest T20I chases in New Zealand’s history.
Allen blasted an unbeaten century off just 33 balls against South Africa in the Semi-Final at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, and alongside Seifert’s contribution of 58 off 33 the team cruised to a nine-wicket win in the 13th over.
Seifert, who represented the victorious Manchester Super Giants in ‘The Hundred’ last month, was named ‘Player of the Tournament’ for amassing 394 runs at a strike rate of 168, including 72 (off 38) in the final.
Pacer Ben Sears was not considered for selection as he continues to rehabilitate his ankle injury.
“It’s going to be awesome to welcome India to our shores and get summer underway,” said head coach Rob Walter.
“India is a quality team and a challenging opposition, so to take them on in our own conditions in front of Kiwi fans is really exciting.
“We hear most of the games are going to be sold-out and it should make for some incredible occasions.”
For the record, the highly anticipated twelve-match tour, which also includes five ODIs and two Tests, is on track to smash NZC box-office records with more than 76,000 tickets already snapped up one month out from the opening match.
“We’ve got a near full-strength squad that covers all bases and I’m excited to see how we compete against the current T20 world champions,” Walter said.
Walter said the T20I squad balance reflected the desire to manage pace bowlers’ workloads, with 16 white-ball matches and eight Tests scheduled for the Black Caps between October to February.
“Our priority is winning games and putting the best team on the park, but we also have to keep in mind the volume of cricket in the coming months.
“We’re very fortunate with the depth that we’ve got to call upon, so we’ll look to use all 16 squad members throughout the series as we manage workloads.”
Walter said he hoped Ravindra would be fit for the ODI series.
“We’re gutted for Rachin,” he said. “He’s going to play a big role for us this summer so it’s important that he doesn’t rush his rehab, but we’re optimistic he’ll be back for the ODIs.”
Squad: Finn Allen, Matt Henry, Glenn Phillips, Zak Foulkes, Michael Bracewell, Adam Milne, Mitchell Santner (C), Bevon Jacobs, Jacob Duffy, Daryl Mitchell, Tim Seifert, Mark Chapman, Kyle Jamieson, Devon Conway, Nathan Smith, Lockie Ferguson.
Schedule
1st T20I: Oct 22: Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
2nd T20I: Oct 24: Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
3rd T20I:Oct 27: Hnry Stadium, Wellington.
4th T20I: Oct 30: Eden Park, Auckland.
5th T20I: Nov 1: Seddon Park, Hamilton.
-PTI
