New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson has decided to skip the three-match T20 International series against India to focus on the upcoming Test rubber.
The T20I series will begin on Wednesday in Jaipur while the second and third affair will be held in Ranchi and Kolkata on November 19 and 21 respectively.
“We decided through talking with Kane and Kyle that they won’t play in this T20 series,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.
“They’re both going to get ready for the test matches and I think you’ll find there will be other guys involved in the test matches that won’t play the entire series either. It’s a bit of a balancing act at the moment and with three T20 games in five days plus travel to three different cities it’s a very, very busy time,” he added.
Jamieson’s absence could be a hint that he will feature in the first test against hosts India in Kanpur which would leave fellow pacers Tim Southee and Neil Wagner competing for one spot, if the visitors opts to go with two seamers, two spinners and an all-rounder.
Meanwhile, Stead also said that Lockie Ferguson was set to feature in the first T20 after recovering from the calf injury which had ruled him out of the just concluded T20 World Cup in the UAE.
“You’ll definitely see that the whole squad will get match time over here and that’s about us managing the workload of the players, especially with the test matches coming up for us, which will be a real key priority for us as we work through the next week,” the head coach stated.
“How our day works at the moment is that the test players will go and train from 10 to 1 on the morning of the matches, we then go back and play the match in the evening, we travel the next day, then we repeat that for three games in a row,” he added.
Earlier, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was announced to skip the upcoming T20I series against hosts India in order to prepare for the subsequent two-Test series.
“With the opening game of the T20 series on Wednesday evening, followed by games on Friday and Sunday night – the decision was made for Williamson to join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur as they focus on red-ball preparation,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had said in a statement.
Williamson, who will however, be a part of the Kiwi squad, will focus on the red-ball preparations and Tim Southee will lead the visitors in the T20I series.
New Zealand’s two-match Test series against India will be their first assignment in the new cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC).
The Black Caps had won the inaugural final in June this year after beating India by eight wickets in Southampton in England.
Black Caps tour of India (Squads)
Tests: Kane Williamson (Captain), Tom Blundell, Henry Nicholls, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young
T20Is: Tim Southee (Captain), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi