Kyle Jamieson and Kane Williamson will train with the test squad ahead of the first match in Kanpur on November 25.
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New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson has opted to skip the T20I series against India to focus on the upcoming Test series that signals the start of the new World Test Championship cycle. The three match T20I series starts in Jaipur on Wednesday before moving to Ranchi for the second T20I on Friday and then the final match of the series will be played at the Eden Gardens. The Black Caps are coming into the bilateral series three days after losing the T20 World Cup final against Australia in UAE.
Jamieson was in the World Cup squad but didn’t play a single match. However the 6’8” bowler is a pivotal part of the New Zealand team in the longer formats of the game. Meanwhile the Black Caps have also decided to rest their captain Kane Williamson on Tuesday and both players will train with the test squad ahead of the first match in Kanpur on November 25.
Williamson played a brilliant knock of 85 from 48 balls in the final of the T20 World cup to power his side to the highest total in a T20 World Cup final ever. However the Aussies were too good on the day as they chased down the target with seven balls remaining courtesy of half centuries from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.
“We decided through talking with Kane and Kyle that they won’t play in this T20 series,” New Zealand coach GaryStead said.
“They’re both going to get ready for the test matches and I think you’ll find there will be other guys involved in the test matches that won’t play the entire series either.
“It’s a bit of a balancing act at the moment and with three T20 games in five days plus travel to three different cities it’s a very, very busy time.”
“You’ll definitely see that the whole squad will get match time over here,” Stead added.
“That’s about us managing the workload of the players, especially with the test matches coming up, which will be a real key priority for us as we work through the next week.”
India will be hoping to shrug off the disappointment of not making it to the business end of the T20 World Cup when they take on New ZeaLand. More importantly it would be team India’s first series under new head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit sharma.
India were eliminated at the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup after losing their opening two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand. Although the Men in Blue managed to win the remaining three group games, the damage was already done and Pakistan and New Zealand went through to the knockout stage.
