Williamson to skip India T20Is, wants to focus on Test series

NEW ZEALAND captain Kane Williamson, who has guided his country to the finals of world championships in all the three formats since 2019, is set to skip the T20 international series against India starting on Wednesday (17) since he wants to fully focus on the two-Test series which follows the limited-over series.

Williamson is ranked the No.2 batter in Tests by the International Cricket Council, just behind his England Test counterpart Joe Root, and averages almost 54 in the long format.

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Senior pacer Tim Southee will lead the Kiwis in the T20Is in the absence of Williamson, who led his team to the final of the just concluded T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates where they lost to Australia. Williamson himself played a knock of 85 runs in just 48 balls in the match.

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Confirming the absence of Williamson in the T20I series against India, New Zealand Cricket said in a release, “With the opening game of the T20 series on Wednesday evening, followed by games on Friday and Sunday night - the decision was made for Williamson to join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur as they focus on red-ball preparation.

“Tim Southee will captain the T20 side for the opening game on Wednesday, while Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner are also available for both series,” it added.

New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson’s recovery from a right calf-strain continues to progress well and he is expected to be available for the T20 series as well.

The three T20 Internationals will be played in Jaipur, Ranchi (November 19) and Kolkata (November 21).

India will be led in the series by Rohit Sharma, the country’s new skipper in the T20Is after Virat Kohli stepped down from the leadership in the same format after the World Cup.