Michael Bracewell is set to captain New Zealand when the Black Caps tour Pakistan for a five-match T20I series later this month.
Bracewell, who will skipper the team for the first time, has been side-lined since his most recent international appearance in March last year, firstly with a ruptured Achilles and then with a broken finger.
Since recovering he’s made a spectacular return to cricket, claiming his best first-class figures with the ball in his first match back in the Plunket Shield.
The all-rounder will lead a group that features a core of seasoned T20I players, including seven members of previous T20 World Cup squads, balanced by two players in Wellington’s Tim Robinson and Canterbury’s Will O’Rourke - selected in New Zealand T20I squad for the first time.
Robinson earns his maiden selection on the back of a standout Super Smash campaign, where he finished as the second-highest run scorer in the men's competition, despite playing only six of the Firebirds' eleven games due to injury. The highlight was his 139 against the Otago Volts at the Cello Basin Reserve.
O’Rourke’s selection caps a summer that has seen him make his debut across the two other international formats, including the best match return on Test debut for New Zealand: nine for 93 against South Africa.
The 22-year-old also played a key role in the Canterbury Kings push to the Super Smash grand final, taking 12 wickets at an average of 19.
Black Caps coach Gary Stead will lead a support staff group in Pakistan featuring batting coaching Luke Ronchi, and Canterbury’s high performance development doach Brendon Donkers as bowling coach.
The coaching group will be assisted by former England international James Foster, who most recently worked with the team in the UK and India.
The playing group and support staff depart for Pakistan next Friday (April 12), with the first match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Thursday, April 18.
Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner and Kane Williamson were all unavailable due to Indian Premier League commitments.
Will Young was also unavailable for selection as he takes up a winter contract with Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, as was Tom Latham, who is awaiting the birth of his second child.
Tim Southee, the team’s leading T20 wicket-taker since the last T20 World Cup, was not considered for selection to allow him a period of prolonged conditioning following a busy playing schedule across all formats.
Colin Munro was also unavailable for selection.
BLACK CAPS T20 SQUAD
Michael Bracewell (c)
Finn Allen
Mark Chapman
Josh Clarkson
Jacob Duffy
Dean Foxcroft
Ben Lister
Cole McConchie
Adam Milne
Jimmy Neesham
Will O’Rourke*
Tim Robinson*
Ben Sears
Tim Seifert (WK)
Ish Sodhi
*Uncapped in T20 format
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