Kane Williamson to miss Black Caps vs India T20 series, Tim Southee to captain

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will join his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli on the sidelines for the three-match Twenty20 international cricket series, starting on Thursday morning (2.30am NZT).

In a statement the Black Caps confirmed their skipper would miss the three matches in Jaipur, Ranchi (Saturday) and Kolkata (Monday), in order to rest for the subsequent two-test series which will kick off New Zealand’s World Test Championship title defence.

Williamson will join the test specialist group already training in Jaipur – including frontliners Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Neil Wagner and Tom Blundell – as they focus on red-ball preparation.

Williamson’s regular T20 deputy, Tim Southee, will lead the Black Caps in the opening match.

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He’ll flip the coin with Rohit Sharma who will captain India in the absence of Kohli who is being rested for the three T20s and first test in Kanpur, before rejoining the home side for the second test in Mumbai starting on December 3.

Williamson has been troubled by an ongoing elbow injury but defied it to play a wonderful knock of 85 off 48 balls to set up the Black Caps’ total of 172-4 in the Dubai decider. Australia won by eight wickets with seven balls to spare on Monday (NZT).

Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, meanwhile, is expected to return after he was ruled out of the T20 World Cup with a calf strain. “[Ferguson’s recovery] continues to progress well and he is expected to be available for the T20 series,” the statement said.

The squad is otherwise unchanged from the T20 World Cup, with Kyle Jamieson, Mark Chapman and Todd Astle all expected to get game time after carrying the drinks for every match in the UAE.

The Black Caps arrived in Jaipur early on Tuesday (NZT) less than 24 hours after their defeat in their first T20 World Cup final.

Black Caps T20 squad to face India: Tim Southee (captain), Daryl Mitchell, Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Jimmy Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Todd Astle, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.