India Premier League has its own magnitude, players from every continent are drafted and we get to see world class players playing at their absolute best in franchise cricket. New Zealand will miss the service of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee in all three ODIs, these players will playing for their IPL sides.
Tom Latham is set to lead the team in absence of Kane Williamson, with Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips and Fin Allen only taking part in the first ODI which will take place in Auckland.
It will be a good chance for players who have played a few matches for the team but are still new and young addition to team, individual performances and how they work it out for the team will be attentively watched by the selectors knowing that Men’s ODI World Cup is only few months away.
Chad Bows and Ben Lister will making their debut. Lister plays for Auckland Ace in New Zealand’s domestic white ball competition, he made his T20i debut against India last month. Canterbury’s Chad Bowes will join the team as a potential middle order batter.
Considering the two ODI team setups, Fin Allen (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Glenn Phillips (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Lockie Ferguson (Gujarat Giants) will leave for IPL after the first ODI.
Ben Lister will be making debut in place of Ferguson, Mark Chan and Henry Nicholls making their way in place of Fin Allen and Glenn Phillips respectively. Tom Blundell, who last played ODI in , will be making comeback because he has been in one touch lately in last couple of series. He last played an ODI match in Auckland against India in 2020,
“Tom Blundell, in particular, is someone who we’ve been hugely impressed by in international cricket over the past 18 months as a leader in the Test team and then domestically with the Wellington Firebirds. It’s an exciting opportunity for Tom ahead of a big year of white ball cricket,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.
New Zealand Team For ODI Series Against Sri Lanka
Tom Latham (c), Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Chad Bowes, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young