New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has made several changes to its pace attack for the remainder of the India T20Is and the five-match ODI series.
Premier quick Matt Henry, who played the first two T20Is, will not travel with the squad to Wellington for the 3rd T20I, while Lockie Ferguson will also miss Tuesday’s third fixture. The board said fast bowlers are being moved around to take care of ‘planned workload management’. Ferguson, however, will be available for the fourth and fifth T20Is in Auckland and Hamilton, respectively.
Henry will stay back in Christchurch, the venue for the first two T20Is, and will travel to Auckland, which will host the first ODI on November 4.
Kyle Jamieson, who did not play in the first two T20Is, will travel with the squad to Wellington for the 3rd T20I and remain there for Canterbury’s Ford Trophy second-round game on October 31 against Wellington. Jamieson will then leave for Auckland for the ODI series.
Fellow seamer Blair Tickner will join the T20I squad in Wellington for the remainder of the series, while Josh Clarkson will travel to Auckland and be available for the last two T20Is. Right-arm quick Matt Fisher will also travel with the squad to Wellington as cover for the third game and will return to the New Zealand A squad ahead of the second unofficial four-day match against India A.
“We’re very fortunate with the depth in the squad to be able to call upon different players to help manage our pacers’ workloads, and to try and ensure they are best placed to perform for the team for all the cricket coming up,” New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said.
Meanwhile, Team India leads the five-match T20I series 2-0 following an impressive run chase in the second game on Sunday. Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir and Nitish Reddy starred with the bat as the visitors completed an unlikely chase to maintain their lead over the hosts.