shares
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill, who had missed the fifth ODI against India in Wellington, has also been sidelined from the upcoming three-match T20I series, which begins at the same venue on Wednesday.
Seam-bowling allrounder James Neesham, who had been initially left out of the T20I squad, has now been drafted in as Guptill’s replacement.
Guptill reportedly sustained the injury while throwing a ball during fielding practice on the eve of the Wellington ODI. He will return home to Auckland and rest ahead of three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, which begins on February 13 in Napier.
“Unfortunately Martin hasn’t recovered in time for this T20 series – which is very condensed with three games over five days,” coach Gary Stead said. “It’s a shame as he’s obviously a big part of our white-ball sides, but we’ve got to look at the big picture and ensure he gets the injury right.”
Neesham marked his return to international cricket after a gap with an unbeaten 47 off 13 balls, including five sixes in a Thisara Perera over, in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in January. He, however, sustained a hamstring strain soon after and missed the one-off T20I against Sri Lanka. However, after proving his fitness in the domestic Super Smash T20 tournament, he returned for the final two ODIs against India. He was particularly impressive in the fifth ODI at Westpac Stadium, where he took 1 for 33 and made 44 off 32 balls before being run-out by MS Dhoni.
“It’s great to have Jimmy coming into the side after some encouraging ODI performances,” Stead noted.
Henry Nicholls isn’t part of the T20I squad, which means either Kane Williamson or wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert will open with Colin Munro. In the absence of both Guptill and Nicholls, New Zealand will have their fourth different opening combination in four limited-overs games.
Squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1 and 2), James Neesham, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner (game 3)
©
ESPN Sports Media Ltd.