New Zealand have named a new stand-in captain for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Pakistan.
New Zealand announced their 15-member squad for the Pakistan T20Is starting March 16. Mitchell Santner, the regular white-ball skipper is unavailable due to IPL duties, forcing the Black Caps to pick a new skipper for the series.
Michael Bracewell to lead New Zealand
Michael Bracewell, who had a stellar Champions Trophy campaign, has been named captain for the Pakistan T20I series. Bracewell scored an unbeaten half-century in the final against India and bowled 10 overs for 2-28. Overall, he picked eight wickets in the tournament at an economy rate of 4.10 and also made Wisden's Champions Trophy team of the tournament.
This won't be the first time Bracewell will be leading New Zealand. He had also captained the squad that toured Pakistan last year. The five-match T20I series where Bracewell led was drawn 2-2.
Also read: Player ratings for New Zealand after their Champions Trophy final defeat
Several players missing, T20 stars return
With several players unavailable due to IPL commitments, New Zealand T20 stars like Ish Sodhi, Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, and Jimmy Neesham have returned to the setup.
The squad also features as many as seven members of the Champions Trophy team, including Matt Henry, who was not able to play the final due to injury. The right-arm seamer has been picked for the last two games of the five-match series. On the other hand, Will O'Rourke and Kyle Jamieson, the two other first-choice seamers who played in the Champions Trophy, have been selected for the first three matches to manage their workloads.
Kane Williamson has not been picked after he made himself unavailable for selection. Williamson doesn't have an IPL 2025 contract.
Players missing from the T20I squad and playing the IPL are: Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Bevon Jacobs.
New Zealand squad for Pakistan T20Is
Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (*), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (*), Kyle Jamieson (#), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke (#), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi
# - Picked for the first three matches
* - Picked for the last two matches
New Zealand vs Pakistan T20Is schedule
1st T20I: Sunday 16 March - Hagley Oval, Christchurch
2nd T20I: Tuesday 18 March – University of Otago Oval, Dunedin
3rd T20I: Friday 21 March – Eden Park, Auckland
4th T20I: Sunday 23 March – Bay Oval, Tauranga
5th T20I: Wednesday 25 March – Sky Stadium, Wellington
