Lennox Earns First Call-up; Santner, Henry, And Jamieson Return For T20 Tour Of India

Lennox earns first call-up; Santner, Henry, and Jamieson return for T20 tour of India (Image Source: IANS)

The Black Caps Head Coach: New Zealand 'A' left-arm orthodox bowler Jayden Lennox has earned his first call-up to the Black Caps squad, as New Zealand Cricket named a balanced squad with rotating players for both the one-day and T20 series in India to be played next month.

The NZC picked squads that are a mix of experienced while-ball experts like Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner, and Michael Bracewell, with debutants like Lennox and Kristian Clarke, as they search for a perfect squad for a series that will help the team prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Lennox has been named in the ODI squad, alongside the uncapped Kristian Clarke, and emerging internationals Adi Ashok, Josh Clarkson, Nick Kelly, and the recent Test debutant, Michael Rae.

The Black Caps Head Coach, Rob Walter, said he’s pleased to see Lennox’s progression through the NZC high-performance system.

“Jayden has been an identified player of interest for some time and has some good New Zealand “A” experience under his belt. He's consistently been one of the top performers in white-ball cricket domestically for a number of seasons.”

Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner are set to feature for New Zealand again, with Jamieson coming straight back into both the one-day and T20 sides, and Santner being named in the T20 side only, as part of his return-to-play plan as he recovers from his groin injury.

Michael Bracewell will captain the side during the one-day series in Santner’s absence, surrounded by an experienced leadership group of Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young, and Henry Nicholls.

Test captain Tom Latham and front-line seam bowler Matt Henry both miss the ODI series, with the former staying in New Zealand for the birth of his third child, and the latter continuing to rehab after his recent calf tear ahead of the T20 series and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in February, New Zealand Cricket informed in a release on Tuesday.

Nathan Smith (side), Blair Tickner (shoulder), and Mark Chapman (ankle) were not considered for selection for the ODI series as they continue with their respective return-to-play plans. Chapman is on track to play in the T20 series.

Ben Sears has returned from his stint in Melbourne, but was not considered for selection in ODI cricket as he works through his return to play program. Sears is progressing well and is on track to be available for the Super Smash. Kane Williamson is unavailable for ODI selection due to commitments in the SA20 league.

Mitch Hay will keep wicket for the ODI series, whereas Devon Conway will take the gloves for the T20Is. Jacob Duffy and Rachin Ravindra will both sit out the ODI series to allow them to rest after being involved in all cricket since the start of the home summer.

New Zealand will play five T20Is immediately after the three ODIs in India, as part of their final preparation for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup in February and March.

The importance of the series ahead of the T20 World Cup is not lost on Head Coach Rob Walter. “Playing in the sub-continent is obviously very different to what we’re used to in New Zealand, so any opportunity we can get to expose our guys to those conditions can only be a good thing, especially prior to a T20 World Cup in the subcontinent.”

Alongside Santner, Chapman and Henry are set to return to the T20 side after recovering from ankle and calf injuries, respectively.

Batters Bevon Jacobs and Tim Robinson both come back into the T20 squad after producing some impressive performances for their respective domestic sides. Jacobs is averaging 54 across his seven most recent innings, including one century, and Robinson is averaging just over 60 across his last nine innings, including two centuries.

James Neesham and Ish Sodhi also come back into the Black Caps squad, with Neesham having stints in the Nepal Premier League and ILT20 in recent weeks. Sodhi returns from domestic duties with Canterbury.

Newly IPL-contracted players Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes have earned the nod after impressing throughout the home summer, with Foulkes set to experience T20 cricket in India for the first time.

Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Finn Allen, and Tim Seifert will be joining the squad in India as soon as their franchise commitments are completed. This will allow them to feature in the back end of the T20 series in India ahead of the T20 World Cup.

The T20 World Cup Squad will be announced in mid-January.

ODI Squad for India

Michael Bracewell (c), Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young

T20 Squad v India

Michael Bracewell (c), Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young

Unavailable due to injury: Will O’Rourke (back), Blair Tickner (shoulder), Nathan Smith (side)

Article Source: IANS