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All-rounder Michael Bracewell will lead New Zealand in their five-match home T20I series against Pakistan starting from Sunday onwards at Christchurch.
Regular skipper Mitchell Santner will be unavailable for the series due to T20 league commitments, notably the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from March 22 onwards. A standout in New Zealand's run to the Champions Trophy Final with an unbeaten fifty and two wickets, Bracewell is joined by six other players from the campaign for the upcoming home series. Bracewell gets his first opportunity to lead his country on home soil having captained the side during a white-ball tour of Pakistan last year, and looks forward to the challenge of hosting Pakistan. "It is a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country. I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we have got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice," said Bracewell as quoted by ICC. "Mitch Santner's done a great job since taking over as white-ball captain and I will really just be trying to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in." "Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they will be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy. For the guys coming back from Dubai, there is obviously a level of disappointment, but also a lot of pride in the way we were able to perform and represent New Zealand." "We have loved all of the support we have received from afar and are certainly looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our own fans and in front of full venues," he concluded. Ish Sodhi returns to the group having missed the recent Sri Lanka home series, while Ben Sears comes back after tearing his hamstring which forced him out of the recent Champions Trophy campaign. Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke are available for the first three games of the series as the team manages the fast bowlers' workloads after the recent ICC event. Matt Henry, who finished as the leading wicket-taker at the tournament despite missing the final through injury, is named for matches four and five though he will be subject to further fitness testing. Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham and Tim Seifert have also been included in the squad. Selector Sam Wells says the side has an eye on next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year. "We are certainly starting to narrow our sights on the ICC T20 World Cup," Wells said. "We made it clear in our planning and communication with players that availability for that tournament and the build-up to it was required to be considered for this series against Pakistan." "Half of this squad is only returning from the Champions Trophy on Wednesday and so we are going to need to manage those players really carefully. "It is nice to be welcoming back the likes of Ish, Kyle and Ben after time away from our T20 set-up," he concluded. Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs and Rachin Ravindra are also unavailable due to their T20 playing commitments, with Kane Williamson also declaring himself unavailable. New Zealand squad: Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (matches 4-5), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (matches 4-5), Kyle Jamieson (matches 1-3), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O'Rourke (matches 1-3), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi -T20I series dates 1st T20I: Sunday, March 16, Hagley Oval, Christchurch 2nd T20I: Tuesday, March 18, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin 3rd T20I: Friday, March 21, Eden Park, Auckland 4th T20I: Sunday, March 23, Bay Oval, Tauranga 5th T20I, Wednesday, March 25, Sky Stadium, Wellington. (ANI)
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