New Zealand Announces Squad for Australia T20Is: Key Players Out, New Faces In

Key players, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell, will not be participating in the upcoming T20I series against Australia. Mitchell is currently recovering from a foot injury, while Williamson is on paternity leave.

Newcomers Rachin Ravindra and the yet-to-be-capped Josh Clarkson have been added to the T20I squad to strengthen the batting lineup.

Trent Boult, who last played a T20I in November 2022, is making a comeback to the T20I team, just in time for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup later this year.

Trent Boult claimed his third wicket by dismissing Charith Asalanka with a slower ball during New Zealand v Sri Lanka in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Boult will be playing the second and third games, with Tim Southee playing the first one before resting for the remainder of the series to manage his workload ahead of the Australia Tests.

Mitchell Santner will captain the 14-member squad, which also includes Lockie Ferguson, replacing Ben Sears.

Selector Sam Wells expressed his faith in the new additions to the squad, despite the absence of two key players. He highlighted the potential of Josh and Rachin, who have been part of the white-ball squads this summer.

Jimmy Neesham was not available for selection, while Michael Bracewell is still recovering from a finger injury.

Fixtures

1st T20I – February 21 – Wellington

2nd T20I – February 23, Auckland

3rd T20I – February 25, Auckland

New Zealand T20I Squad:

Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult (games 2 & 3), Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (game 1)