Trent Boult pulls out, Kane Williamson returns as New Zealand announce T20I squad for Bangladesh series

Kane Williamson to play T20Is for New Zealand after a year.

Kane Williamson will return as New Zealand captain for the Bangladesh T20I series as the NZC announced the squad. The home series against Bangla Tigers will be the first time Williamson will play T20Is after a year.

Williamson had suffered a knee ACL injury in IPL 2023, leading to him spending the majority of the year on the bench, only returning in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. He will now lead a side sans batting mainstay Devon Conway, who continues to be rested on the grounds of workload management.

The absentees from the squad include the injured Michael Bracewell (Achilles), Lockie Ferguson (Achilles), Matt Henry (hamstring), and Henry Shipley (back) while, Trent Boult made himself unavailable for selection.

“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,” head coach Gary Stead was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

James Neesham and Ben Sears included in New Zealand squad for home T20Is against Bangladesh

All-rounder James Neesham has also returned to the T20I team after missing New Zealand’s previous T20I series, which took place in England in September, due to the birth of his child, and fast bowler Ben Sears has been included.

“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,” Stead added.

The New Zealand T20I squad will meet on Boxing Day ahead of the series opener against Bangladesh in Napier on December 27, followed by the second and third games in Tauranga on December 29 and 31.

New Zealand’s T20I squad:

Kane Williamson (capt), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.

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