Michael Bracewell has been named as the captain of the New Zealand T20I squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Pakistan.
Michael Bracewell Named as NZ Captain for Pakistan Tour
New Zealand’s senior and key players including Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner and Kane Williamson will miss the 5-match T20I series owing to their IPL 2024 commitments or for other reasons.
The 15-member squad includes uncapped Will O’Rourke while Tim Robinson has also received his maiden call-up for the T20I squad.
New Zealand T20I squad: Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert (WK), Ish Sodhi
As per the New Zealand tour of Pakistan 2024, a total of 5 T20I matches will be played between April 18 and April 27 across 2 different venues in Pakistan.
The 5-match T20I series will lay a strong foundation for both teams’ preparation for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies. Ahead of the series, PCB named Babar Azam as their new white ball captain. The Kiwis’ team is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on April 14.
The first three matches of the series will be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi while the remaining two matches will be played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
This will be New Zealand’s third visit to Pakistan in the last 17 months, the first of which occurred in December 2022 – January 2023 for two Tests and three ODIs.
The second of which was played in April 2023 for a white-ball tour. The 2022-23 Test series finished as a 0-0 draw, while New Zealand won the ODI series 2-1.
In April later that year, the five-match T20I series ended in a 2-2 draw and Pakistan dominated the visitors in ODIs, claiming the series 4-1. Earlier this year, Pakistan toured New Zealand and suffered a 4-1 defeat in T20Is.
