India vs New Zealand T20: NZ skipper Kane Williamson out of the squad, Tim Southee to lead

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will now miss this week’s three-match T20I series against India. The Black Caps captain will now join his Indian counterpart, Virat Kohli, on the sidelines for the upcoming tournament as he priorities his preparations for the Test series which is scheduled to begin on November 25. Ace pacer Tim Southee will captain the side in Williamson’s absence.

The Black Caps in a statement confirmed that the skipper would be missing the three matches set to take place in Jaipur on Wednesday, November 17, in Ranchi on Friday, November 19 and in Kolkata on Sunday, November 21. Williamson will be sitting out the T20I matches in order to rest for the subsequent two-test series. The test series has been prioritised by the New Zealand skipper as it kickstarts his side’s World Test Championship title defence. The Test series will begin on 25 November.

Having opted out of the T20 side, Williamson will now join New Zealand’s Test specialist group for training in Jaipur. The group already training in Jaipur includes players like Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Neil Wagner and Tom Blundell. The players have been practising the red-ball game in the conditions of Jaipur. The India vs New Zealand T20 series will kickstart in Jaipur on Wednesday.

India vs New Zealand Test series 

India are slated to play a two-match Test series against New Zealand starting from November 25. The Test matches will commence after the conclusion of the three-match T20I series, which is scheduled to take place between November 17 and November 21. The first Test match is scheduled to be held in Kanpur starting November 25 followed by the second Test in Mumbai on December 3. The last time India and New Zealand clashed in a Test match was back in June during the ICC World Test Championship final, which the Kiwis won by 8 wickets. India will be hoping to take revenge in the upcoming series. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming bilateral series against New Zealand. India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has been named the skipper of the side for the first Test match in absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, who will directly join the team for the second Test match in Mumbai. The last time when Kohli was rested and Rahane took over as captain, Rohit Sharma was named the vice-captain of Team India in Test matches. However, in absence of both Kohli and Rohit, Cheteshwar Pujara has been appointed the new vice-captain of the Test side.  

Image: AP