After Kane Williamson's retirement, New Zealand announce squad for T20I series vs West Indies, 2 star players make comeback

New Zealand’s modern-day great Kane Williamson drew curtains on his illustrious T20I career. Williamson who made a rusty return to international cricket in the ODI series against England, decided that there is enough talent in T20s ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 in India. As New Zealand continue their preparations for the mega event, they announced the squad for five-T20I series against two-time T20 World Cup champions West Indies.

The 14-man squad sees the return of pacer Kyle Jamieson and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. Jamieson has recovered from the side injury that ruled him out of the ODI series against England whereas Sodhi has earned a recall. Also, Nathan Smith has been included in the side. He is yet to make his T20I debut.

“Kyle’s been back bowling this week and is tracking nicely for this series,” Walter was quoted as saying in the media release.

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“Nathan’s made an impressive start to his international career in the Test and ODI formats and we back him to do the job if he gets his T20 chance in this series.

“Ish is our most capped T20I player and it’s always great to be able to add his skills, energy and experience to the group."

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Walter gives Henry a break

Head coach Rob Walter confirmed that Matt Henry has been rested for the series. Henry missed the final two ODIs against England due to a calf strain, making way for Blair Tickner.

“Matt has played every game for the BLACKCAPS since the tour to Zimbabwe in July - so it’s the right moment for him to have a short break and the fact he will also get some time to rehab his calf is another upside,” Walter added.

The five-T20I series begins on November 5 at Eden Park, Auckland.

New Zealand's T20I squad for West Indies series -

Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Tim Seifert, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi.

List of New Zealand’s injured players

The five players who were unavailable for selection due to their respective injuries are — Finn Allen (foot), Lockie Ferguson (hamstring), Adam Milne (ankle), Glenn Phillips (groin), and Ben Sears (hamstring).

Youngster dropped

Meanwhile, one player who could not make the cut is Bevon Jacobs. The 23-year-old has managed to score 64 runs from three innings at a strike rate of 120.75.