Kane Williamson, Kyle Jamieson to miss upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand cricketers Kane Williamson and Kyle Jamieson have been withdrawn from Kiwi's T20I squad against Bangladesh after "medical advice", according to ESPNcricinfo. Bowling Allrounder Mitchell Santner will be the skipper in the absence of Williamson. Rachin Ravindra and pacer Jacob Duffy have been included in New Zealand's T20I squad to replace Williamson and Jamieson. The New Zealand Cricket said the decision was made due to the "medical advice and consideration of the team's upcoming schedule", according to ESPNcricinfo.

New Zealand coach Gary Stead said that Williamson and Jamieson will be rested since the Kiwis want them to be fully fit for the Test matches against South Africa and Australia. "We want both Kane and Kyle to be in the best possible place leading into the next block of Test cricket against South Africa and Australia. Based on discussions with the medical staff and the players, it was decided a period of rehabilitation and conditioning was the best option for both of them," Stead was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

Talking about the replacements, the New Zealand coach said that Duffy can bring a lot to the upcoming T20I series and he also praised Ravindra. "Jacob is an experienced T20 cricketer, and always brings a lot when he is part of the BlackCaps environment. He's worked very hard on his white-ball skills in recent seasons. Rachin adds to any environment he's a part of, and has a great desire to learn and develop his game - across all three formats," he added.

New Zealand squad for T20Is against Bangladesh: Mitchell Santner (C), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.