After losing the T20I series against India, New Zealand will aim for a better ODI series, which begins on February 5. With the front-line pacers facing injury issues, the Kiwis have opted for fresh names in the 13-man squad announced for the series.
Trent Boult (broken left-hand), Lockie Ferguson (right-calf strain) and Matt Henry (broken left-thumb) are struggling with injuries and will not be available for the much-awaited series. Tom Latham has recovered from his broken left finger and back to the team. Colin de Grandhomme also returns to the squad after being left out for the last two T20Is.
Tim Southee will have a lot of responsibilities as an experienced bowler and as the coach Gary Stead said, “Tim Southee has an important job leading our new-look pace attack, which has a huge opportunity against some of the very best batsmen in the world.” The uncapped played Kyle Jamieson has been included for the 50-overs series alongside Scott Kuggeleijn and Hamish Bennett.
Ish Sodhi has been included only for the first match of the series in Hamilton. He will be released after that for the second four-day match between New Zealand A and Indian A scheduled to begin from February 7 in Christchurch.
Speaking about the squad, the coach Gary Stead added, “We’ve seen from the Twenty20 series that (India) are as strong as ever. While the bowling line-up has a fresh look, the batting is very settled and we’ll likely have the same top eight batsmen from the World Cup finals.”
Squad
Kane Williamson (capt), Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi (1st ODI), Tim Southee, Ross Taylor