Beginning on Sunday, March 16, Michael Bracewell will captain a diminished New Zealand team in the five-match Twenty20 International series against Pakistan. The Hagley Oval in Christchurch will host the opening Twenty20 International.
New Zealand lost to India in a thrilling final to emerge as runners-up in the just ended 2025 Champions Trophy. In the eight-team competition, Bracewell was among the Kiwis’ top players. He is one of seven members of the Champions Trophy team selected to play against the Men in Green in the Twenty20 Internationals. Will O’Rourke, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, and Daryl Mitchell are the other members of the team who were included in the Champions Trophy lineup.
Bracewell has played 27 Twenty20 Internationals and finished with 82 runs and eight wickets from five Champions Trophy games. He has taken 34 wickets with the ball in hand and contributed 259 runs with the bat. In what could be a fascinating series, the Wellington Firebirds all-rounder will captain the Blackcaps for the first time at home.
The Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts on March 22, will keep top players like Glenn Phillips, Lockie Ferguson, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, and white-ball captain Mitchell Santner away from this series.
After missing the most recent home series against Sri Lanka, Ish Sodhi has been called up. Ben Sears, meanwhile, has fully healed from the hamstring tear that prevented him from competing in last month’s Champions Trophy.
In an effort to control the pacers’ workload, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) only includes Jamieson and O’Rourke in the squad for the first three games. In contrast, Henry, who missed the Champions Trophy final because of an injury, is included in the team for the fourth and fifth Twenty20 Internationals. However, following the Kiwis’ Wednesday return home, his condition will be evaluated first.
After he declared himself unavailable for the series, Williamson was not taken into consideration. Due to his IPL commitments, Bevon Jacobs, who was a member of the T20I team against Sri Lanka, will not play in the series.
New Zealand Squad
Michael Bracewell (C), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (for the fourth and fifth Twenty20 Internationals only), Kyle Jamieson (for the first three Twenty20 Internationals only), Will O’Rourke (for the first three Twenty20 Internationals only), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, and Ish Sodhi.
India
