Ravindra misses; Milne comes in. Who else is in NZ squad to face IND for upcoming T20I series

The Blackcaps have announced a 16-man squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against India in New Zealand starting on October 22. A notable absence for the home team is Rachin Ravindra, who will miss the T20-leg of the series due to a shoulder injury and is expected to return for the following ODI series.

“We’re gutted for Rachin. He’s going to play a big role for us this summer, so it’s important that he doesn’t rush his rehab, but we’re optimistic he’ll be back for the ODIs,” said New Zealand Head Coach Rob Walter.

The inclusion of Adam Milne, who has not been part of the team for over a year, was a bit of a surprise. “We’re very fortunate with the depth that we’ve got to call upon, so we’ll look to use all 16 squad members throughout the series as we manage workloads. India is a quality team and a challenging opposition, so to take them on in our own conditions in front of Kiwi fans is really exciting. We’ve got a near full-strength squad that covers all bases, and I’m excited to see how we compete against the current T20 world champions,” Walter said.

“It’s going to be awesome to welcome India to our shores and get summer underway,” Walter said. “India is a quality team and a challenging opposition, so to take them on in our own conditions in front of Kiwi fans is really exciting. We hear most of the games are going to be sold-out and it should make for some incredible occasions,” Walter said on the prospect of facing India.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (C), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert and Nathan Smith.