New Zealand’s T20 team will have to play the next series against Australia without their usual white ball captain Mitchell Santner. He had abdominal surgery last month and was trying to get fit for the Australia games before the T20 World Cup next year but couldn’t recover in time.
Michael Bracewell will captain the 14 man squad instead. The team includes Kyle Jamieson and Ben Sears but Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne are still out with injuries. The series against Australia is on October 1, 3 and 4 in Mount Maunganui.
According to NZC, New Zealand coach Rob Walter said it’s never great when you lose your captain. But these things happen. Michael has experience leading the team, he did a great job against Pakistan so the team has full confidence in him.
Ferguson is out with a hamstring injury and Milne with a foot injury. Other players like Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips and Finn Allen were already out with their own injuries. Kane Williamson won’t be playing either but should be back for the England games.
Jamieson and Sears are back in the team after missing the Zimbabwe series in July. Jamieson was out because his baby was born and Sears had a side injury. Walter also said Jamieson has put in a lot of work to get back on the field. Everyone in the team is excited to see him play again. Walter also mentioned the team’s plan to build a strong group of fast bowlers. He said the schedule is packed and having good fast bowlers is key to doing well. The team wants to have as many options as possible.
Ish Sodhi the leg spinner is still in the squad while Santner is out. Sodhi played two of the five games in Zimbabwe. Devon Conway who has a casual playing contract with the team is also staying on.
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Walter thinks Australia will play aggressively in the series. He also said Australia’s aggressive style is cool. They put you under pressure so you have to think of different ways to play against them. Australia seems to have a clear plan of how they want to play so playing them will be a great test.
New Zealand T20I Squad
Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
