New Zealand has announced the squad for the ODI series against India that will be played next month. In a surprising announcement, only 9 players were named in Kiwi’s preliminary squad while the remaining 6 will be picked from the New Zealand ‘A’ team that is currently playing against India ‘A’.
New Zealand’s tour to India will include 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is with the ODI series commencing from October 22 with the first match in Mumbai. New Zealand ‘A’ is taking part in a four-day game that started today. The remaining 6 players will be picked from that series. The Kiwi side will fly to India on October 12.
The Kiwi coach Mike Hesson said that they have picked the core team first. “The nine we’ve picked have made up the core of our ODI team for a while and all of them have experience playing in India,” Mike Hesson was quoted as saying by nzc.nz.
“With a number of our top guys already playing in India, it’s helpful to be able to select the squad in two parts. With six spots left, there’s an obvious incentive for the players in New Zealand A to perform and put their best foot forward,” Hesson said.
James Neesham and Neil Broom weren’t picked in the squad and the coach mentioned that the duo has been informed of their improvement areas. “It will be disappointing for James and Neil, but we’ve talked through the areas that we’d like to see them work on and if we see development they’ll certainly both come into the reckoning come the home summer.
“Neil was really effective for us batting at three or four last season, but we have quality, established batsmen in those positions and we’d like to see Neil develop his game further to show he has the skills to bat at five.
“Jimmy needs go back and really dominate domestic cricket with both bat and ball. We know Jimmy is a talented player, but we’ve spoken with him around improving the consistency in all areas of his game,” Hesson added.
New Zealand preliminary squad for the India ODIs:
Kane Williamson (C), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
