Jaipur: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will miss this week’s three-game T20I series against India as he prioritises preparing for the Test series starting November 25 in Kanpur. The second Test starts in Mumbai December 3.
Less than 24 hours after losing to Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup final in Dubai, Williamson and the 15-strong T20 squad arrived in Jaipur Monday evening ahead of the GJ Gardner homes tour of India.
With the opening game of the T20 series Wednesday evening, followed by games Friday (November 19) and Sunday (November 21), the decision was made for Williamson to join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur as they focus on red-ball preparation.
Williamson had also spoken about an elbow injury during the T20 World Cup, which has been a bit of a challenge for him and he has been refraining himself from over-hitting at the nets.
The elbow complaint has been a long-standing one for Williamson, forcing him to miss the ODI series at home against Bangladesh, the start of the first leg of IPL 2021 in India in April, the Edgbaston Test against England, and the inaugural Hundred.
The injury flared up during the warm-ups in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. But, the Kiwi captain has managed through alright so far.
Fellow dual squad member Tim Southee will captain the T20 side for the opening game 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.
New Zealand T20 squad: 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.
New Zealand Test squad: 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,