Kiwi speedster Kyle Jamieson opt-out of the ongoing three-match T20 International series and will be joining his skipper Kane Williamson to prepare for the upcoming two match Test series which will be a part of the World Test Championship second cycle.
“We decided through talking with Kane and Kyle that they won’t play in this T20 series,” coach Gary Stead was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.
“They’re both going to get ready for the Test matches and I think you’ll find there will be other guys involved in the Test matches that won’t play the entire series either. It’s a bit of a balancing act at the moment and with three T20 games in five days plus travel to three different cities it’s a very, very busy time.”
New Zealand who finished as runner-up in the recently concluded T20 World Cup on Sunday will be facing India in letters backyard at Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. It would not be easy for both teams to gear up quickly after the marquee event and considering the current situation where players have to stay in bio bubble and workload management Men in Blue and Black Caps have to mentally prepare themselves for this important series.
However, two test matches is more important from both team’s point of view as those matches are part of the World Test Championship cycle where the first event of the longest format of the game was won by the Black Caps where they defeated India by eight wickets.
Stead also confirmed that pacer Lockie Ferguson, who had suffered a calf injury at the start of the T20 World Cup in the UAE, has regained full fitness and is available for the series opener.
