New Zealand announce T20I squad for the series against Windies

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced the new-look and flexible T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Windies. Martin Guptill has been recovered from his hamstring injury and has returned to the top of the order. His presence will surely bolster the squad as the Kiwis will look to keep the visitors at bay throughout their tour. However, Tim Southee has been named as the skipper albeit only for the first T20 International.

The selectors have opted to rest some of the senior players during the series as the regular skipper Kane Williamson will miss only the first game of the series. While he will return to take the control of things as captain, Ross Taylor will make way for him for the last couple of games. Even the star of the second ODI, Trent Boult has not been picked in the first two T20Is and will feature only in the last game of the series. Ish Sodhi has managed to hold on to his place ahead of Todd Astle and Colin de Grandhomme continues to be away from the team following his father’s demise.

Uncapped players given an opportunity against West Indies

The uncapped Otago batsman Anaru Kitchen and medium pace bowler Seth Rance have been rewarded for their exploits at the domestic level. While Kitchen has received his maiden call-up to the national side, Rance has featured in a couple of ODIs for the Kiwis. He is also the part of the ODI squad as he replaced the injured Adam Milne. The chief selector of New Zealand Gavin Larsen was confident of the squad picked by his team and hoped they do wonders for their country.

“When you add Anaru Kitchen to the likes of Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Glenn Phillips and Tom Bruce, there’s a lot of threats throughout the batting line-up – there are more explosive batting options than ever before. Anaru has performed superbly for Otago the past couple of seasons and with his ability to bowl as well, he brings a lot to the side,” he said as quoted by Cricbuzz. The series is all set to commence on December 29 in Nelson as the last two matches will be hosted by Mount Maunganui on January 1 and 3.

Here are the squads: New Zealand vs West Indies T20 Series

1st T20I: Tim Southee (c), Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Anaru Kitchen, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor

2nd T20I: Kane Williamson (c), Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Anaru Kitchen, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi

3rd T20I: Kane Williamson (c), Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Anaru Kitchen, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult