Kane Williamson opts out of T20I series against India; Tim Southee to lead
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson just like his counterpart Virat Kohli has opted out of the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, starting November 17 (Wednesday) in Jaipur. The Kiwis lock horns with the Men in Blues only two days after the end of the T20 World Cup 2021.
Williamson has been managing an elbow injury since the second phase of IPL 2021. He missed a couple of games and defied the pain to lead the Black Caps in the T20 World Cup 2021. He played a superb innings in the final, however, failed to lead the Kiwis to the title, losing against Australia on Sunday’s final.
In a statement the Black Caps confirmed their skipper would miss the three matches in Jaipur, Ranchi and Kolkata, in order to rest for the subsequent two-match Test series which will kick off New Zealand’s World Test Championship title defence.
Kane Williamson now join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur – including frontliners Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Neil Wagner and Tom Blundell – as they focus on red-ball preparation.
Tim Southee to lead in place of Kane Williamson
Veteran fast bowler and Kane Williamson’s deputy Tim Southee will lead the Black Caps in the three-match series against India, who will be led by Rohit Sharma.
The squad is otherwise unchanged from the T20 World Cup, with Kyle Jamieson, Mark Chapman and Todd Astle all expected to get game time. On the other hand, fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who was ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2021 with a calf tear, is expected to return to action.
“[Ferguson’s recovery] continues to progress well and he is expected to be available for the T20 series,” the statement said.
New Zealand T20 squad to face India: Tim Southee (captain), Daryl Mitchell, Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Jimmy Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Todd Astle, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
