New Zealand are set to host Australia for a five-match T20I series in February-March – here’s the NZ squad for the trans-Tasmanian clash beginning February 22.

New Zealand will feature a full-strength line-up led by Kane Williamson and will include other high-profile names in Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Martin Guptill. Along with the seasoned campaigners, the squad includes a number of youngsters who’ve created a buzz around their name, including the likes of Kyle Jamieson and Devon Conway. Jamieson, in particular, will be the cynosure of all eyes after bagging a whopping INR 15 crore deal ahead of IPL 2021.

Guptill was initially in doubt for the series, having suffered a hamstring injury in the lead-up, and Finn Allen, the uncapped batsman who topped the Super Smash 2020/21 run charts, was drafted in as his standby. However, Guptill passed his fitness test on the eve of the first game and is available for selection. His form, however, would be a bit of a concern for the home team, having hit just one fifty in T20Is in the last three years.

On the bowling front, Southee and Boult’s availability will be a significant boost to New Zealand, who are missing the services of Lockie Ferguson, currently sidelined due to a stress fracture.

Currently, New Zealand are ranked N0.6 in the ICC T20I team rankings and will be hoping to gather winning momentum ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup. The two sides have met nine times in T20Is, with Australia winning seven of those games.

The five T20Is will be held in five different venues: Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Auckland and Tauranga.

You can check the complete Australia T20I squad here.

New Zealand squad for the T20I series against Australia

Kane Williamson (C), Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Martin Guptill, Hamish Bennett, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (WK), Ish Sodhi.

Finn Allen was added as stand-by for Guptill.