New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will skip the T20 series against India that starts tomorrow, choosing to instead prepare for the Test series that will follow.
After a gruelling World Cup campaign, in which Kane’s men reached yet another ICC tournament final, the team has already arrived in Jaipur for the G.J. Gardner Homes tour of India.
Williamson has chosen to sit out the T20 series to give his body a break—he had also played in the Indian Premier League just before the World Cup—and he will join the team on the field when the Test series starts on November 25 in Kanpur.
In his absence, fellow veteran Tim Southee will captain the T20 side in the three games—on Nov 17, 19 and 21.
Williamson will join the Test specialist group that is already training in Jaipur.
Lockie Ferguson, who is recovering from a calf strain, is expected to make his return to the side.
First-choice wicket-keeper Devon Conway has already been ruled out of the tour after injuring his hand during the T20 World Cup semifinal against England.
New Zealand’s T20I squad:
Tim Southee (captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi
India’s T20I squad:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
