Star batter missing as New Zealand name ODI and T20I squads for IND vs NZ 2026 series

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have named their squads for the upcoming ODI and T20I tour of India, set to commence on January 11 with the 50-over leg. Veteran batter Kane Williamson will miss the tour due to his SA20 2026 commitments, with the uncapped duo of Jayden Lennox and Kristian Clarke receiving the nod in the ODI squad.

Williamson, who has retired from T20Is, will be in South Africa playing for the Durban Super Giants. Mitchell Santner continues to recover from his groin injury and has been named only in the T20I squad as Michael Bracewell will lead the visitors in the ODIs.

Left-arm spinner Lennox has bagged 69 wickets in 54 List A games. Clarke, meanwhile, a right-arm medium bowler, has taken 52 scalps in 34 List A appearances at 28.17 apiece. The likes of Adithya Ashok, Josh Clarkson, Nick Kelly and Michael Rae are also part of the squad to face the mighty Indian side.

With Tom Latham not part of the ODI squad, Mitch Hay will keep wickets, while Devon Conway will do so in T20Is. Both Jacob Duffy and Rachin Ravindra have been rested for the ODI series, allowing them to rest after their heavy involvement in the home summer.

Nevertheless, they will return for the T20I leg. Matt Henry will also join from the T20Is as he continues his recovery from ankle and calf injuries.

New Zealand ODI squad: Michael Bracewell (c), Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young.

New Zealand T20I squad: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi.

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"He's consistently been one of the top performers in white-ball cricket domestically" - New Zealand coach on Jayden Lennox

Rob Walter. (Image Credits: Getty)

New Zealand head coach Rob Walter addressed Lennox's selection by stating that he had been on their radar for a long time. He explained, as quoted by their official website:

"Jayden has been an identified player of interest for some time and has some good New Zealand “A” experience under his belt. He's consistently been one of the top performers in white-ball cricket domestically for a number of seasons."

Walter reckons playing in India before the T20 World Cup is the perfect preparation, adding:

"Playing in the sub-continent is obviously very different to what we’re used to in New Zealand, so any opportunity we can get to expose our guys to those conditions can only be a good thing, especially prior to a T20 World Cup in the subcontinent."

The Black Caps will also be boosted by the returns of Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Finn Allen and Tim Seifert for the T20 World Cup as they will join the squad in India after their franchise commitments.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava