Follow UsThe stock of once highly rated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Devon Conway kept falling as he was dropped from the New Zealand T20I squad for the Zimbabwe tri-series, which will involve the hosts and South Africa apart from the Blackcaps.
Wicketkeeper-batter Mitch Hay was the other notable absentee from New Zealand's previous T20I series against Sri Lanka.
There are several other players who are unavailable for selection, and the biggest name of them all is Kane Williamson.
The legendary batter, who is playing county cricket and T20 Blast in England for Middlesex, made himself unavailable, most likely to focus entirely on his cricket in England, which will involve him playing for London Spirit in The Hundred.
While The Hundred begins on August 5, the Zimbabwe Tri-Series will go on till July 26 after beginning on July 14th, forcing the 34-year-old to travel a lot.
Apart from Williamson, Kyle Jamieson (due to childbirth), Ben Sears (injury) and Lockie Ferguson (precautionary workload management) also remained unavailable for selection.
This paved the way for Adam Milne and Matt Henry's comeback to the national set-up. While Henry missed out on the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to an elbow injury, Milne last played for the Kiwis in November 2024.
Rob Walter, former South Africa coach, who is now the head coach of New Zealand, was confident of the new-look squad. He said, "I think we've got a really strong squad for this tour, and I'm looking forward to getting the team together and getting into the work.”
Mitchell Santner will continue to lead New Zealand while Bevon Jacobs will eye a national cap.
Mitchell Santner (C), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchel, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi