New Zealand’s skipper Kane Williamson will lead a relatively settled T20 squad in the team’s final international series of the year. The Kiwis will face Bangladesh in the 1st T20 International in Napier on December 27th before two further matches in Tauranga on December 29th and 31st.
The series would be significant for the team since it acts as the team’s preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and the United States next year. Regular opener Devon Conway, and many injured players Michael Bracewell, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, and Henry Shipley, were not considered for selection.
The only players in the group who did not play against England in the team’s most recent T20I series earlier this year are Kane Williamson, Jimmy Neesham, and Ben Sears have returned to the team. Kane Williamson missed the series as he recovered from knee surgery, while Neesham missed out on the series due to the birth of his first child.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said the series marked the beginning of the team’s preparation for next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and believes that the team will have the opportunity to test a few players ahead of the marquee event.
“It’s great to be able to finish off a busy year that started on the road by having the group together in New Zealand, We’ve played T20 cricket in a wide variety of conditions this year and it’s been great to see a broad range of players making contributions.
“Tim Seifert, as an example, returned to the side in a specific role at the top of the order and made significant contributions in each series he was part of.”
“With a World Cup in the middle of next year, we‘re well into our planning in terms of both the tournament and the type of squad we might need in the conditions. While we’re advanced in our planning, as we saw with the One Day World Cup Squad this year with the likes of Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra – there is certainly still time for players to come into that mix,” Gary Stead said.
New Zealand team includes both seasoned and emerging players and hopes to reinforce their T20 approach as they prepare for the global championship in 2024. The players will have the opportunity to stake their claim in the squad and make important contributions to the team’s success.
New Zealand Squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
