Kane Williamson Returns as Captain: New Zealand Announces T20I Squad for Series Against Pakistan

New Zealand Cricket has revealed its T20I squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan, set to commence on January 12 at Eden Park. The squad announcement sees the return of Kane Williamson as the captain of the team, marking his comeback to leadership duties after a period of absence due to injury.

However, in a surprising move, the breakout star of 2023, Rachin Ravindra, will be taking a break during the series against Pakistan. This decision comes as a result of managing his workload, as Ravindra has been actively involved in cricket across five countries for the past five months.

Gary Stead, the coach of New Zealand Cricket, emphasized the importance of prioritizing Ravindra’s well-being due to his significant value to the team. Stead confirmed that Ravindra remains a key player in their plans for the T20 World Cup in June and is expected to return for the T20 series against Australia in February.

The absence of Ravindra has opened up discussions about the return of pace bowlers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, both of whom have been recovering from injuries. Henry, who suffered a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Cricket World Cup, is set to make his comeback in a Super Smash contest.

On the other hand, Lockie Ferguson, who was sidelined due to an Achilles injury during the ODI World Cup, has been named in the squad for the final three matches of the series against Pakistan. This development means that fast bowler Ben Sears, who impressed in previous matches, will be in action only for the first two games.

The squad also sees the absence of Kyle Jamieson and Michael Bracewell due to injury. Bracewell, who sustained an Achilles injury in England seven months ago, is set to make his return in the Super Smash for Wellington Firebirds.

New Zealand T20I Squad:

• Kane Williamson (C)
• Finn Allen
• Mark Chapman
• Josh Clarkson*
• Devon Conway (wk)
• Lockie Ferguson
• Matt Henry
• Adam Milne
• Daryl Mitchell
• Glenn Phillips
• Mitchell Santner
• Ben Sears
• Tim Seifert (wk)
• Ish Sodhi
• Tim Southee

The series against Pakistan is expected to be a crucial challenge for New Zealand as they look to fine-tune their squad ahead of future tournaments.

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