On Tuesday, February 13, New Zealand revealed their 14-member squad for the three-match T20I series against Australia.
Josh Clarkson, an all-around player, received his first call-up to the format, while Trent Boult, a fast bowler, marked his comeback after November 2022.
Tim Southee, whose workload will be controlled ahead of the Test series against the same opponents starting on February 29, will be replaced by the left-arm seamer for the second and third games of the series. Due to a foot ailment, all-rounder Daryl Mitchell has missed games while star batsman Kane Williamson is out on paternity leave.
In addition, Michael Bracewell's finger injury prevented him from being selected while Jimmy Neesham is competing in the Bangladesh Premier League 2024. Chief selector Sam Wells of New Zealand commented on the team, saying that while they will miss Williamson and Mitchell, they have a lot of faith in Clarkson and Ravindra.
The three-match T20I series will begin from Wednesday, February 21 at Sky Stadium in Wellington while the second and third T20I will be played at Eden Park in Auckland on February 23 and 25 respectively.
New Zealand T20I squad: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult (games 2 & 3), Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (game 1)