Kane Williamson Kane Williamson to miss T20 Internationals against India, prefers to focus on Test series
Christchurch: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, under whose leadership his team played the T20 World final, will miss this week’s three-game T20 series against India as he prioritises preparing for the Test series against the home side.
Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets to clinch the T20 World Cup title.
Williamson and the 15-strong T20 squad arrived in Jaipur on Monday evening ahead of the G.J. Gardner Homes Tour of India.
With the opening game of the T20 series on Wednesday evening, followed by games on Friday and Sunday night - the decision was made for Williamson to join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur as they focus on red-ball preparation, reports New Zealand Cricket.
Tim Southee will captain the T20 side for the opening game on Wednesday, while Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner are also available for both series.
Lockie Ferguson’s recovery from a right calf-strain continues to progress well and he is expected to be available for the T20 series, reports New Zealand Cricket.
BLACKCAPS T20 squad for India:
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
Tim Southee
Kane Williamson
BLACKCAPS Test squad for India:
Kane Williamson (c)
Tom Blundell (wk)
Kyle Jamieson
Tom Latham
Daryl Mitchell
Henry Nicholls
Ajaz Patel
Glenn Phillips
Rachin Ravindra
Mitchell Santner
Will Somerville
Tim Southee
Ross Taylor
Neil Wagner
Will Young
The second Test starts in Mumbai on Dec 3.
