New Zealand all-rounder Micheal Bracewell will lead the team for the first time at home when they take on Pakistan in five T20Is. The maiden captaincy stint for the 34-year-old all-rounder also came against Pakistan last year.
New Zealand is fielding a fringe side in this event as only the seven players from the recently concluded Champions Trophy are slated to take part in it.
The top players from the team, including the captain Mitchell Santner are unavailable due to their commitments in the upcoming IPL 2025 from March 22. Apart from Santner, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, and Bevon Jacobs are also unavailable due to their commitments to the IPL. However, Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, and James Neesham are back on the team after playing in the T20 leagues all around the world.
The selectors have also called the veteran leggie Ish Sodhi after being absent from the last series against Sri Lanka. They have also selected Ben Sears after he missed out on the Champions Trophy due to an injury.
Micheal Bracewell is excited about the prospect of captaining New Zealand again. He termed Pakistan as a dangerous side when it comes to T20I cricket. Have a look at what he said about captaining the New Zealand team.
“It’s a great honor and a real privilege to captain your country,” Bracewell said.
“I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we’ve got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice.
“Mitch Santner’s done a great job since taking over as white-ball captain and I’ll really just be trying to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in.
“Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they’ll be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy.
“For the guys coming back from Dubai, there’s obviously a level of disappointment, but also a lot of pride in the way we were able to perform and represent New Zealand.
“We’ve loved all of the support we’ve received from afar and are certainly looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our own fans and in front of full venues.”
Here is the New Zealand team for the Pakistan T20Is.
New Zealand: Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (games 4 & 5), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (games 4 & 5), Kyle Jamieson (games 1, 2 & 3), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke (games 1, 2 & 3), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi