Kane Williamson will lead New Zealand once again in the Twenty20 International series over Pakistan.

Recently, New Zealand Cricket revealed their Twenty20 international team for the forthcoming series against Pakistan, which is scheduled to start at Eden Park on January 12.

But in an unexpected turn of events, New Zealand Cricket coach Gary Stead declared that Rachin Ravindra, the 2023 breakout star, will be enjoying a well-earned vacation during the forthcoming five-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan. In the same spirit, Stead mentioned that the southpaw had been playing cricket nonstop for about five months; thus, this was an attempt to control his workload.

Because Ramin is a young player who is so valuable to New Zealand cricket, we want to take good care of him. He is the only player or staff member that has been traveling nonstop for the last five months, spanning five different nations, and that cannot continue. He will be considered again for the T20 series against Australia in February and is still very much a part of our plans for the T20 World Cup in June, according to Stead, who was cited by stuff.co.nz.

Ravindra’s absence has notably heightened the discussion surrounding the potential returns of pace bowlers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, both of whom are recovering from injuries. Henry, who suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Cricket World Cup, is scheduled to return on Friday in a Super Smash match against the Central Stags.

The KFC T20 Series against Pakistan starts on January 12 at Eden Park. More | https://t.co/PK2adErqGI #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/aQBCnR5qSb

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 2, 2024

Jamieson-Bracewell is still recovering from their injury, while Pacer Lockie Ferguson rejoins the New Zealand team.

The final three games of the series will feature feisty New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson, who was out during the recently finished ODI World Cup because of an Achilles injury. This implies that Ben Sears, the quick bowler who made an impression against Bangladesh, would only play in the opening two matches.

In addition, injuries will prevent Kyle Jamieson and Michael Bracewell from competing. Bracewell is scheduled to make his return on Thursday in the Wellington Firebirds Super Smash against the Auckland Aces at Eden Park’s outer oval. Bracewell had a catastrophic Achilles injury in England seven months ago.

Team T20I from New Zealand:

Kane Williamson (C), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson*, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, and Tim Southee.