Ross Taylor dropped from New Zealand squad for Pakistan T20Is

Ross Taylor happens to be the most notable omission as New Zealand announce two separate squads for their upcoming T20I series against Pakistan. The series gets underway on Friday, December 18 at the Eden Park in Auckland. Apart from Taylor, the Black Caps have also left out fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Hamish Bennett, who both have been suffering from injuries.

While Lockie has sustained a stress fracture on his lumbar spine, Bennett misses out after an abdominal tear during the Ford Trophy. Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips managed to hold on to their spots in the national team. Selector Gavin Larsen, on Saturday, December 12, sounded delighted with Conway and Phillips’ performance and also talked about Taylor’s omission.

Leaving Ross out was a tough decision, says New Zealand selector

“We were thrilled Glenn and Devon were able to take their opportunities so well in the previous series and we’re keen to give them the chance to back that up against a strong Pakistan T20 outfit,” Larsen stated, quoted by Cricbuzz.

“Their inclusion and the return of Kane means we’ve left out Ross Taylor. This was, as you’d imagine, a very tough decision as Ross has been a consistent performer for us, but unfortunately, we just couldn’t find room in the squad for him due to the quality and form of the other batsmen,” he added.

Kane Williamson, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Daryl Mitchell and Trent Boult, who all are a part of the second Test against the West Indies, will join the T20I squad ahead of the second and third game in Hamilton and Napier respectively.

In Williamson’s absence, Mitchell Santner will be leading the Kiwis in the first T20I. Santner made his debut in the washed-off third T20I against the Caribbean team. The squads have also seen the comeback of pacer Blair Tickner and leg-spinner Todd Astle.

Squad for 1st T20I: 

Mitchell Santner (c), Todd Astle, Doug Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner

Squad for 2nd and 3rd T20Is:

Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee