Kane Williamson, New Zealand skipper, will miss the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, which gets underway from Wednesday.
Less than 24 hours after falling to Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup Final in Dubai, Kane Williamson and the 15-strong T20 squad arrived in Jaipur on Monday evening ahead of the G.J. Gardner Homes Tour of India.
Kane Williamson To Miss T20I Series Against India For Prioritizing For Test Series
NZC said with the opening game of the T20 series on Wednesday evening, followed by games on Friday and Sunday night – the decision was made for Kane Williamson to join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur as they focus on red-ball preparation.
“Blackcaps captain Kane Williamson will miss this week’s three-game T20 series against India as he prioritizes preparing for the Test series starting on November 25 in Kanpur,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said in a statement.
Fellow dual squad member Tim Southee will captain the T20 side for the opening game on Wednesday. At the same time, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner are also available for both series.
Lockie Ferguson Is Recovering Well And Is Expected To Be Available For T20Is
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will not participate in the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, which will commence on November 17 in Jaipur. New Zealand Cricket, in an official statement, said the Kiwi skipper will take a break to prepare for the 2 Tests that will be played after the commencement of the T20Is.
Kane Williamson had also spoken about an elbow injury during the T20 World Cup, which has been a bit of a challenge for him, and he has been refraining himself from over-hitting at the nets. The elbow complaint has been a long-standing one for him to miss the ODI series at home against Bangladesh, the start of the first leg of IPL 2021 in India in April, the Edgbaston Test against England, and the inaugural Hundred.
“Lockie Ferguson’s recovery from a right calf-strain continues to progress well and he is expected to be available for the T20 series,” NZC added.
India and New Zealand will lock horns in the T20I series from Wednesday. The first Test is scheduled to begin on November 25 in Kanpur. The second and the final Test will be played at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium from December 3.
The Kiwis are boosted with the fitness update on their pacer Lockie Ferguson, who missed the T20 World Cup due to the strain in his right calf. Lockie Ferguson is recovering well from his injury and is expected to get fit to take the field on November 17.
The first Test of the upcoming tour will be played in Kanpur from November 25 to 29, followed by a match in Mumbai from December 3 to 7. The Test matches will be preceded by three T20Is to be played in Jaipur (November 17), Ranchi (November 19), and Kolkata (November 21).
New Zealand T20 squad: Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (c).
New Zealand Test squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young,