The New Zealand cricket team has announced the squad for the three-match T20I series against Australia. For this, veteran fast bowler Trent Boult made a comeback to New Zealand’s T20I squad after a hiatus of 15 months. In his first T20I appearance since November 2022, the left-arm quick will be joined by the inclusion of players such as Josh Clarkson and Rachin Ravindra who have also been selected in the 14-man squad.
Boult’s inclusion is confirmed for the second and third matches scheduled at Eden Park on February 23 and 25, respectively. This decision comes as Tim Southee opts to balance his workload during the Test series against South Africa and Australia.
The rest of the T20 squad remains unchanged from the team that secured a 4-1 victory against Pakistan in January, except for Ben Sears making room for Lockie Ferguson. Ferguson is set to rejoin the Auckland Aces in the Ford Trophy this Sunday before linking up with the BLACK CAPS on Monday in Wellington.
In the meantime, notable omissions from the squad include Daryl Mitchell, who is currently sidelined due to a foot injury, and Kane Williamson who will be on paternity leave.
New Zealand selector Sam Wells said, “It’s never ideal missing two of your best players for such a big series, but in saying that, we do have a lot of faith in the guys coming in. Both Josh and Rachin have been in our white-ball squads this summer and it’s really exciting for them to now get this opportunity.”
“Josh hits the ball as long and as hard as anyone and we were encouraged by his performances with the ball in his maiden ODI series against Bangladesh before Christmas. Rachin’s talent and class has been clear to all over the past six months, and similar to Josh, it’s great to have his all-round skill-set to call on in this squad,” Wells added.
New Zealand squad for Australia T20Is:
Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (only for series opener).
