IND vs NZ | Kane Williamson rested for T20Is, Tim Southee named captain
Kane Williamson has been rested for the India T20Is and will prepare for the 2-Test series
|New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will miss the three-match T20I series against India, starting November 17 to prepare for the two-match Test series which kick off from November 25. Pacer Tim Southee will lead the team in the T20Is to be played in Jaipur, Ranchi and Kolkata respectively.
This will be New Zealand's first series in the 2021-23 cycle of the World Test Championship. Both the teams will face each other for the first time after the WTC final in June this year. The Blackcaps beat the Virat Kohli-led side to win the inaugural edition in Southampton.
The WTC defending champions are entering the series on the back of their 8-wicket defeat to Australia in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2021 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.Â
Apart from Williamson -- Tom Blundell, Tom Latham, Will Somerville, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Ross Taylor and Neil Wagner will join the Test squad without playing the T20Is while Southee, alongside the likes of Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson will be part of the both squads.Â
For India, Virat Kohli will miss the first game while Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami will miss the entire series. The second game of the two-match Test series will be played in Mumbai from December 3, while the second and third T20I will be played on November 19 and 21 in Ranchi and Kolkata respectively.Â
