Tom Latham will captain New Zealand in the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan as New Zealand cricket named the squad for the series with potential debuts for Colin McConchie And Ben Lister.
The 15-member squad is significantly depleted from New Zealand’s full-strength squad, with Tim Southee, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, and Lockie Ferguson.
On the other hand, Kane Williamson was ruled out after injuring his knee during his franchise Gujarat Titans’ opening match of IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings.
The New Zealand team will also play T20Is on their tour of Pakistan, with the five T20Is to be played in Karachi from April 14-24. The five ODIs will be played in Lahore and Rawalpindi from April 26-May 7.
“We’ve enjoyed a number of exciting matches against Pakistan across both white ball formats in the last season home and way. They are a tough team no matter where you take them on. The successful ODI Series earlier this year in Pakistan provided big learning opportunities for the players and having more ODI match experience is fantastic in a World Cup year,” NZ coach Gary Stead was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
New Zealand is likely to have intimate information about the current Pakistan team thanks to a recent addition to their coaching staff. Saqlain Mushtaq, who until February was head coach of the Pakistan national side, has joined New Zealand as an assistant coach.
Ben Lister And Colin McConchie To Make Their ODI Debuts In Pakistan
According to an official statement, Tom Latham will lead the side while Ben Lister and Cole McConchie will be making their debuts during the tour. The regular Canterbury skipper is also a part of the T20 squad to tour Pakistan and has won selection on the back of a strong season across all formats in domestic cricket, the statement said.
McConchie’s 1,140 runs across formats are the second most of any player this season while he’s also picked up eight wickets. Lister featured in the ODI squad to face Sri Lanka during the recently completed ODI series but didn’t take the field and has the chance to add to his international T20 debut against India earlier this year.
“Cole has been a leader for Canterbury and at New Zealand A level for a number of seasons but his contributions to winning games across formats really stood out this summer. His skill set with bat and ball is a valuable one, especially in the conditions we are likely to face on this tour,” Stead added.
The tour includes extra games tacked on to the tour as compensation for New Zealand pulling out of their tour to Pakistan on the day of the first game of their tour in September 2021, citing security concerns.
New Zealand ODI squad: Tom Latham (capt),Tom Blundell, Chad Bowes, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young.
Squad News | @Tomlatham2 will lead a BLACKCAPS ODI Squad in Pakistan later this month featuring two potential debutants in Ben Lister and @cole_mcconchie. More | https://t.co/u3NWaEdg3O #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/19UOxbVc4b
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) April 3, 2023