New Zealand upcoming white-ball tour of India will not feature Kane Williamson or Tim Southee

As New Zealand juggles their resources to deal with a packed beginning to the year, captain Kane Williamson and wicketkeeper Tim Southee will not be travelling to India for a six-match tour.

The team’s head coach, Gary Stead, will also be absent from the January tour. In his place, assistant coach Luke Ronchi will lead a side that will compete in three one-day internationals followed by three Twenty20 internationals.

Although the Twenty20 squad has not yet been chosen, Williamson, Southee, and Stead will not be participating in the tournament.

Gavin Larsen, the selector for the Black Caps, stated on Monday that the three players will return home after their tour of Pakistan the following month in order to begin preparations for the home Test series against England, which will begin in the middle of February.

Larsen explained to the press, “It’s like a conveyor belt of cricket at the international level.”

“We’ve got two very big Test matches against England, so getting Kane and Tim back and having them recharge their batteries emotionally and physically is really, really critical,” said the captain. “We’ve got two very important Test matches against England.”

Williamson handed over the captaincy of the Test team to Southee, an experienced seamer, just the week before, but he will continue to lead the team in the shorter formats.

Two one-day international series will be played, the first in Pakistan from January 10-14 and the second in India from January 18-24.

Mark Chapman and Jacob Duffy will take the field in India instead of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, and Tom Latham will lead the team as captain.

Both seamer Trent Boult and allrounder Jimmy Neesham are absent from the team as a result of their decision to sign contracts with the Big Bash T20 competition in Australia rather than with the New Zealand Cricket. In addition, fast bowler Kyle Jamieson is still unable to participate due to a back ailment.

Henry Shipley, an all-rounder, is getting ready to make his debut for his country in an international competition.

Larsen believes that both series will prove to be extremely beneficial for the one-day international team that is now ranked first in the world in advance of the Cricket World Cup in India in October and November of next year.

New Zealand squad for One-Day International series in India and Pakistan:

Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (captain against India), Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson (captain, only against Pakistan), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman (only against India), Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy (only against India), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry (Pakistan only)