Kane Williamson To Skip India T20 series, Tim Southee Will Lead

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has opted out of the upcoming three T20Is against India starting in Jaipur on Wednesday as he wants to focus on the two-Test series, which is scheduled to start in Kanpur from November 25.

Tim Southee will lead the Black Caps in the white ball series in the absence of their regular skipper Kane Williamson.

“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,” NZC said in a statement.

“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,” it further stated.

Kane Williamson will miss this week’s three-game T20 series against India as he prioritises preparing for the Test series starting on November 25 in Kanpur. #INDvNZ https://t.co/zff00W47ER

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 16, 2021

Lockie Ferguson, who was ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2021 with a calf injury is expected to be fit for the T20I series as per the official release.

IND vs NZ Series 2021 Squads T20 Internationals

India 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, Mohd. Siraj

New Zealand Squad:

Tim Southee (Captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi