New Zealand Cricket Team have left out veteran batsman Ross Taylor from their 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be played in the UAE and Oman in October. Another major exclusion from the squad is all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme.
This will be the first time Taylor will not feature for the Black Caps in a major tournament led by Kane Williamson. Ross Taylor has not played for New Zealand in the shortest format since 2020 when the Kiwis hosted West Indies at home.
This is really big: Ross Taylor has been left out of the T20 World Cup squad and the other two T20 squads NZC announced for Bdesh and Pakistan tours
— Vishal Dikshit (@Vishal1686) August 9, 2021
New Zealand have picked a star-studded bowling attack, including three spinners and four pacers. The three spinners are Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, and Todd Astle while the frontline seamers are Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Kyle Jamieson along with all-round options of Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham.
David White, the NZC chief executive, is happy with the squad they have picked as in confident that the players can deliver the goods. He said:
“I’m satisfied we’ve selected strong squads for all our touring commitments this winter. As the Black Caps proved in England earlier this year, we have good depth in the New Zealand game and I’m confident all the squads chosen will acquit themselves well.”
New Zealand’s near four-month Asian tour will begin with the series against Bangladesh, for which they will leave on August 23. The squad for Bangladesh, where they will play five T20Is, will be led by Tom Latham. None of the members named in the squad for the India tour and ICC World T20 will be a part of the Bangladesh tour.
NZ squad for T20 World Cup and India T20Is: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
