A seven-strong pace attack headlines the Blackcaps squad named for New Zealand’s five-match T20I series against India, with white-ball captain Mitchell Santner set to lead a 16-man side.
The Hero VIDA T20I series, powered by Ai+ Nova Smartphone, begins on October 22 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch and will span 11 days across four cities.
The T20I series is part of India’s 12-match tour of New Zealand, which also includes five ODIs and two Tests. More than 76,000 tickets have already sold, and the tour is on course to break New Zealand Cricket’s box-office records.
Thirteen players from the Blackcaps squad that finished runners-up to India at this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup have been selected. The group includes Michael Bracewell and Adam Milne, who missed the tournament due to injuries.
Milne, 34, returns to the international T20 setup after last playing for New Zealand against Zimbabwe more than a year ago. He joins Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy in an experienced pace group, alongside younger fast bowlers Zak Foulkes and Nathan Smith.
However, all-rounder Rachin Ravindra will miss the T20I series after dislocating his right shoulder during a promotional shoot last week. His recovery is expected to take around six weeks, with the aim of returning for the ODI series against India, which begins at Eden Park on November 4.
At the top of the batting order, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen are set to reunite after their impressive campaign at the T20 World Cup.
Allen smashed an unbeaten century from just 33 balls against South Africa in the semi-final at Eden Gardens, while Seifert contributed 58 from 33 deliveries as New Zealand chased down the target with a nine-wicket win in the 13th over.
Seifert also enjoyed a strong run in The Hundred, where he represented the Manchester Super Giants and was named player of the tournament after scoring 394 runs at a strike rate of 168, including 72 from 38 balls in the final.
Ben Sears has not been considered for selection as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.
BLACKCAPS T20I squad v India
Mitchell Santner (C), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert and Nathan Smith.
The opening match at Hagley Oval will be the teams’ first meeting since India defeated New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final in March.
Blackcaps head coach Rob Walter said the series would provide an exciting start to the home summer.
“It’s going to be awesome to welcome India to our shores and get summer underway,” said Walter.
“India is a quality team and a challenging opposition, so to take them on in our own conditions in front of Kiwi fans is really exciting. We hear most of the games are going to be sold-out and it should make for some incredible occasions.
“We’ve got a near full-strength squad that covers all bases and I’m excited to see how we compete against the current T20 world champions.”
Walter said the team remained hopeful that Ravindra would recover in time for the ODI series.
“We’re gutted for Rachin,” he said.
“He’s going to play a big role for us this summer so it’s important that he doesn’t rush his rehab, but we’re optimistic he’ll be back for the ODIs."
With New Zealand scheduled to play 16 white-ball matches and eight Tests between October and February, Walter said workload management had also been considered when selecting the squad.
“Our priority is winning games and putting the best team on the park, but we also have to keep in mind the volume of cricket in the coming months.
“We’re very fortunate with the depth that we’ve got to call upon, so we’ll look to use all 16 squad members throughout the series as we manage workloads.”
The series will also mark Sky New Zealand's return as host broadcaster for NZC home internationals under a new six-season partnership.
Sport Nation will continue as the free-to-air audio broadcaster for the international summer, while the Alternative Commentary Collective will provide coverage of Blackcaps matches through its digital channels.
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