Dunedin, New Zealand

New Zealand veteran Kane Williamson has returned to lead the T20I team against Bangladesh almost a year after playing his last game in this format. The right-handed batter will lead a relatively younger squad, with most first-team players out with respective injuries.

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While opener Devon Conway is rested for the home T20Is against Bangladesh and Trent Boult has made himself unavailable for selection, Michael Bracewell (Achilles), Lockie Ferguson (Achilles), Matt Henry (hamstring) and Henry Shipley (back) will remain out of action.

Having last featured for New Zealand in this format against India in November last year, Kane returned to action during the 2023 World Cup after suffering a knee injury during IPL 2023. Alongside Kane, seasoned campaigner Jimmy Neesham has also returned to the squad. Neesham missed New Zealand’s last T20I series against England in September because of the birth of his first child.

Speaking on the squad selection with the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind, New Zealand’s head coach said it’s good to have the core group together for the marquee event next year. 

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"It's great to be able to finish off a busy year that started on the road by having the group together in New Zealand," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. "We've played T20 cricket in a wide variety of conditions this year, and it's been great to see a broad range of players making contributions."

Stead said with youngsters living up to the expectations, be it keeper-batter Seifert or 2023 CWC star Rachin Ravindra, Stead is confident the T20 team is taking the right strides heading into the T20 World Cup. 

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"Tim Seifert, as an example, returned to the side in a specific role at the top of the order and made significant contributions in each series he was part of. With a World Cup in the middle of next year, we're well into our planning in terms of both the tournament and the type of squad we might need in the conditions."

"While we're advanced in our planning, as we saw with the one-day World Cup squad this year with the likes of Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra - there is certainly still time for players to come into that mix,” the head coach added.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s T20I squad will assemble in Napier (on Boxing Day) ahead of the opener on December 27 before both teams fly to Tauranga for the second and third games on December 29 and 31, respectively. 

New Zealand T20I squad for Bangladesh series –

Kane Williamson (captain), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee