New Zealand announce squad for T20I series against Pakistan

Michael Bracewell will lead the team in this series

PHOTO: AP

New Zealand have announced their squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Pakistan, starting on Sunday, March 16, in Christchurch. Michael Bracewell will lead the team in this series as Mitchell Santner is unavailable due to domestic T20 commitments.

Bracewell, who played an important role in New Zealand's run to the Champions Trophy Final, gets the chance to captain his country on home soil for the first time. He had previously led the side during a white-ball tour of Pakistan last year.

“It’s a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country,” Bracewell said.

“I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we’ve got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice. Mitch Santner has done a fantastic job as the white-ball captain, and I’ll be looking to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in," he added.

Bracewell also acknowledged Pakistan’s strength in T20 cricket.

“Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they’ll be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy," he further added.

“For the guys coming back from Dubai, there’s obviously a level of disappointment, but also a lot of pride in the way we were able to perform and represent New Zealand," said Bracewell.

"We’ve loved all of the support we’ve received from afar and are certainly looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our own fans and in front of full venues,” he concluded.

Ish Sodhi returns to the squad after missing the recent home series against Sri Lanka, while Ben Sears also makes his comeback after recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Champions Trophy. Fast bowlers Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke will be available for the first three matches of the series as the team manages their workloads. Matt Henry, New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker at the Champions Trophy, is named for matches four and five but will undergo further fitness testing.

Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, and Tim Seifert are also included in the squad.

New Zealand's selector, Sam Wells, mentioned that the team is already focusing on next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

“We’re certainly starting to narrow our sights on the ICC T20 World Cup," Wells said.

“We made it clear in our planning and communication with players that availability for that tournament and the build-up to it was required to be considered for this series against Pakistan. Half of this squad is only returning from the Champions Trophy on Wednesday and so we’re going to need to manage those players really carefully. It’s nice to be welcoming back the likes of Ish, Kyle and Ben after time away from our T20 set-up,” he added.

Some key players, including Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, and Rachin Ravindra, are also unavailable due to their T20 commitments, while Kane Williamson has also declared himself unavailable.

New Zealand T20I squad for the series against Pakistan:

Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (matches 4-5), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (matches 4-5), Kyle Jamieson (matches 1-3), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke (matches 1-3), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.

T20I series schedule: