Ōtautahi – Tom Latham will lead the New Zealand cricket squad to Pakistan later this month featuring two debutants in Ben Lister and Cole McConchie.
But the announcement of the squad and tour schedule has been over-shadowed by the injury to the ODI captain Kane Williamson.
Fielding for the IPL side Gujarat Titans against Chennai Kings in his opening IPL game, Williamson suffered a serious knee injury in Ahmedabad.
He had only recently fully recovered from a long-standing elbow injury, which had plagued him over the past two years. His availability for the ODI World Cup in India later this year puts him in doubt.
Meanwhile, McConchie, the Canterbury skipper, should make his debut is also part of the T20 Squad to tour Pakistan and has won selection on the back of a strong season across all formats in domestic cricket.
McConchie’s 1140 runs across formats are the second most of any player this season while he’s also picked up eight wickets.
Lister featured in the ODI squad to face Sri Lanka during the recently completed ANZ ODI Series but didn’t take the field and has the chance to add to his international T20 debut against India earlier this year.
The 15-man squad also features further opportunities for recent ODI debutants Chad Bowes, Rachin Ravindra and Henry Shipley.
The new faces are balanced by an experienced core including six members of the squad that made the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Nine players from the squad also have recent experience in Pakistan, featuring in either the Test or ODI Squads that played in Karachi earlier this year.
The traveling squads will also have the benefit of extra experience in Pakistani conditions with ex-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq joining the group as an assistant coach.
Coach Gary Stead said the prospect of taking on Pakistan across both white ball formats was an exciting one.
“We’ve enjoyed a number of exciting matches against Pakistan across both white ball formats in the last season home and way. They are a tough team no matter where you take them on.
“The successful ODI Series earlier this year in Pakistan provided big learning opportunities for the players and having more ODI match experience is fantastic in a World Cup year.
“Having someone with Saqlain’s experience is a big boost for the group and we are looking forward to the insights he can offer us to aid our preparations for local conditions, and in particular the assistance he can provide to our spin bowling group.”
BLACKCAPS ODI Squad for Pakistan
Tom Latham (c)
Tom Blundell
Chad Bowes
Matt Henry
Ben Lister
Cole McConchie
Adam Milne
Daryl Mitchell
Jimmy Neesham
Henry Nicholls
Rachin Ravindra
Henry Shipley
Ish Sodhi
Blair Tickner
Will Young
The squad to face Pakistan will depart New Zealand on 9 the day after the KFC T20 Series against Sri Lanka game in Queenstown.
The opening match of the five match T20I series is on April 14 in Lahore with the first of five ODIs starting on April 26 in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan v New Zealand Schedule:
Apr 14 – 1st T20I, Lahore
Apr 15 – 2nd T20I, Lahore
Apr 17 – 3rd T20I, Lahore
Apr 20 – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
Apr 24 – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
Apr 26 – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
Apr 30 – 2nd ODI, Karachi
May 3 – 3rd ODI, Karachi
May 5 – 4th ODI, Karachi
May 7 – 5th ODI, Karachi
