WELLINGTON: Mitchell Santner has been named captain of New Zealand’s T20I squad for the collection in India that begins later this month. Kane Williamson and Tim Southee will each be absent, having chosen to not journey after the continued collection in Pakistan. Ben Lister, the 27-year-old Auckland quick bowler, is a primary time inclusion within the New Zealand squad. He had toured India as a part of the New Zealand A squad late final yr and was named Auckland Cricket’s Males’s Bowler of the Yr final season. “Ben has made an thrilling affect for Auckland early in his profession in crimson and white-ball cricket,” New Zealand’s chief selector Gavin Larsen mentioned. “Since his debut in late 2017, he’s the Aces’ main wicket-taker in T20 and Listing A cricket. His means to swing the ball significantly as a left-armer is especially thrilling.
“All of us felt for Ben after his tour ended the way in which it did final yr, and it’s a testomony to his work ethic that he’s been in a position to return to home cricket so strongly this season.” Lister’s A-team tour of India had ended abruptly when he got here down with pneumonia and needed to be hospitalised in Bengaluru earlier than returning house. He’s taken 5 wickets in three Tremendous Smash matches for Auckland to this point this season, and 6 wickets in six Ford Trophy innings.
With Williamson and Southee not travelling to India after the tour of Pakistan, New Zealand can be led by Tom Latham within the ODIs and Santner within the T20Is. Santner has led New Zealand in 11 T20Is — eight of which have been in Eire, Scotland and the Netherlands final yr. “Mitch is a frontrunner in our white-ball groups and has captained the T20 facet in India [in Kolkata in 2021] earlier than,” Larsen mentioned. “His expertise in Indian situations can be invaluable main this group.” NZC mentioned that quick bowlers Kyle Jamieson (again), Matt Henry (belly), Adam Milne (facet) and Ben Sears (again) have been unavailable for choice as a result of they’re recovering from accidents. The New Zealand group is presently in Pakistan the place they’ve one match to go within the three-ODI collection that’s stage at 1-1, after having drawn the two-Check collection 0-0. They’ll then journey to India for 3 ODIs in Hyderabad (January 18), Raipur (January 21) and Indore (January 24), earlier than the three T20Is in Ranchi (January 27), Lucknow (January 29) and Ahmedabad (February 1).
New Zealand’s T20I squad for India: Mitchell Santner (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner.