New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Tuesday announced the squad for the upcoming series against India, comprising three T20Is and as many ODIs. Finn Allen has been named in the squad, while Martin Guptil and Trent Boult have not been included.

Also Read: India squad for New Zealand, Bangladesh series: Hardik to captain in T20Is, Dhawan to lead in ODIs

Veteran left-arm pacer Trent Boult decided to opt out from a central contract from the NZC in order to spend more time with his family, which is reason enough for his omission from the squad. However, Kiwi head coach Gary Stead stated that the team is aware of Boult's 'world-class ability, but is looking to build a team for the future at the moment.

"When Trent opted out of his NZC contract in August, we indicated that priority would be given to those players with either central or domestic contracts, and that's been the case here. We're all aware of Trent's world-class ability, but at this time – as we build towards more global events, we want to give opportunities and experiences to others."

Gary Stead said ahead of the T20I series against India

Speaking on the absence of explosive opener Martin Guptill from the squad, the New Zealand head coach stated that the management is trying to provide more time to the recently emerged Finn Allen at the top of the order. Allen played a couple of eye-catching knocks in the recently concluded ICC event in Australia. Stead hopes of preparing the youngster for the 50-over World Cup next year.

"The emergence and success of Finn at the top of the order in white-ball cricket means a guy of the class of Martin Guptill misses out – that's just the nature of the high-performance sport. With the 50-over World Cup less than a year away we're keen to give Finn every opportunity to keep gaining ODI experience, especially against quality opposition such as India," Stead added.

Read Also: India's performance in every ICC tournament

New Zealand white-ball squad vs India: 

Kane Williamson (C)
Finn Allen
Michael Bracewell
Devon Conway (wk)
Lockie Ferguson
Matt Henry (ODI)
Tom Latham (ODI) (wk)
Daryl Mitchell
Adam Milne
Jimmy Neesham
Glenn Phillips
Mitchell Santner
Ish Sodhi (T20)
Tim Southee
Blair Tickner (T20)

Till now, 11 Indian cricketers have been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. Former Indian captain and legend MS Dhoni became the latest Indian to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame list. 

Read Also | India's 2011 World Cup winning squad: Where are they now?

Along with MS Dhoni, Aussie great Matthew Hayden, South African legend Hashim Amla, former South African captain Graeme Smith, former Kiwi leader Daniel Vettori, and former Pakistan captain Sana Mir and English legend Sarah Taylor were also inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame 2025.

Unorthodox, unconventional and effective 🙌

A cricketer beyond numbers and statistics 👏

MS Dhoni is inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame 🥇

More ➡️ https://t.co/oV8mFaBfze pic.twitter.com/AGRzL0aP79

— ICC (@ICC) June 9, 2025

Here are the Indian cricketers who have been inducted into the prestigious "ICC Hall of Fame". 

Indian Cricketers in the ICC Hall of Fame

New Zealand has appointed Rob Walter as the coach of all three formats of New Zealand men's cricket team in place of Gary Stead. Walter was the coach of South Africa's ODI and T20 teams from January 2023 to April this year. Prior to this, he coached for five years in New Zealand's Otago Province and Central Districts Association.

Also Read: ENG vs IND: England announce squad for the first Test against India

New Zealand cricket under Walter's coaching 

Under Rob Walter's coaching, South Africa made it to the semifinals of the ODI World Cup 2023 and the Champions Trophy this year. Not only this, he also played an important role in taking South Africa to the finals of the T20 World Cup last year. 

“It’s an amazing opportunity to work with such a talented group of players and support staff through a period of time in which so many global events, as well as massive bilateral series, will be contested,” Walter said. “I just can’t wait to get started. It’s exciting, it’s challenging and the opportunity is enormous.”

The 49-year-old Rob Walter was high on New Zealand Cricket's list of preferred candidates from the moment it decided to pursue another all-formats coach, ruling out Stead who guided the Black Caps to the inaugural World Test Championship.

He'll take over in time for New Zealand's tour to Zimbabwe, which starts with a T20 tri-series against the hosts and South Africa before a two-test series against Zimbabwe.

Stead step down from his role in March

Stead has been New Zealand's head coach across all three formats since 2018. New Zealand Cricket announced earlier this week that it was looking for a new coach to replace him.

Also Read: Pataudi Trophy renamed as Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy ahead of India vs England test series

Stead announced in March that he was stepping down from his role in limited-overs formats but wanted to stay on as Test coach. New Zealand Cricket, however, said it preferred to have one coach for all three formats.

The England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday announced a 14-member squad for the first Test of the five-match series against India. The ENG vs IND five-match Test series is starting from June 20. The first match will be played at Headingley on June 20, 2025.

Also Read: Youngest Cricketers to lead India in Tests

Overton replaces Atkinson

Fast bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton has returned. He has been included in the team in place of injured Gus Atkinson. Jamie has returned after the match against New Zealand in June 2022.

Atkinson was unavailable for selection due to a right hamstring injury suffered during the Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.

Carse, Woakes included in the squad

Fast bowlers Brydon Carse, Jacob Bethell and Chris Woakes have also been named in the squad, who last played during the New Zealand Test tour in December. The India A side are already in the United Kingdom, playing warm-up games against England Lions.

Woakes, known for his effectiveness in home conditions, especially at Lord’s, last featured prominently in 2018 against India, where he claimed four wickets and smashed an unbeaten 137.

Young spinner Shoaib Bashir, who starred with nine wickets against Zimbabwe, retains his spot as the lone specialist spinner. IPL winner Jacob Bethell and seamer Sam Cook, both of whom impressed recently, have also earned call-ups.

Ben Stokes to lead the team

England will field a significantly altered team compared to the last time they faced India in early 2024. James Anderson has since retired, while Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson are the other notable absentees from the squad.

Ben Stokes, who returned from a hamstring injury in that Zimbabwe Test, will lead England against India in a five-match series that marks the start of both teams’ campaigns in the new ICC World Test Championship cycle.

Also Read: Most runs vs England in England for India in tests

ENG vs IND Test Series Schedule

• 20-24 June 2025 - 1st Test, Headingley
• 2-6 July 2025 - 2nd Test, Edgbaston
• 10-14 July 2025 - Third Test, Lord's
• 23-27 July 2025 - Fourth Test, Emirates Old Trafford
• 31 July-4 August 2025 - Fifth Test, Kia Oval

ENG vs IND | England full squad

Ben Stokes (c), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

The IPL 2025 Purple Cap is still on the head of Prasidh Krishna. In the Qualifier 2 match between Punjab and Mumbai, Trent Bolt had a chance to go ahead of Prasidh. But Bolt's magic did not work in this match. Now Mumbai's team is out of IPL. In such a situation, Bolt's number of wickets will also not increase.

Also Read: IPL 2025 Orange Cap Winners List

Who is ahead among bowlers?

Talking IPL 2025 Purple Cap contenders, Prasidh Krishna of Gujarat Titans is still number one. Prasidh has 25 wickets in 15 matches. Noor Ahmed of Chennai Super Kings is at number two with 24 wickets. But his team has been eliminated.

The biggest challenge for Prasidh Krishna is Josh Hazlewood of Royal Challengers Bangaluru. Hazlewood has 21 wickets in 11 matches. He is also the kind of bowler who can take five or six wickets in a match. If Hazlewood manages to do this against Punjab Kings in the final, he will make the path to Purple Cap very easily.

Also Read: Most 50+ scores as a captain in IPL playoffs

IPL 2025 Purple Cap Winners List

India A started their England tour on a great note with a solid Day 1 display against the England Lions in Canterbury. Karun Nair headlined the day with a solid, unbeaten 186 with the bat for India A.

England Lions captain James Rew won the toss and decided to bowl first on a greenish pitch at the St. Lawrence Ground. 

India A lost captain Abhimanyu Easwaran early on 8 while Yashasvi Jaiswal went back to the dressing room after adding 24. 

When it looked like that, Rew took the right decision of bowling first, Sarfaraz Khan and Karun Nair put up a 181-run partnership for the third wicket to give India A the advantage after Day 1’s play. 

Karun Nair, who last played a test match in 2017, continued his great form and completed his fifty in 85 balls. 

Soon, Sarfraz Khan, who was dropped from the test squad, completed his fifty in 84 balls as well. When both batters were looking to get to the hundred mark first, Sarfraz was caught down the leg side on 92 off 119 balls and missed his ton.

Sarfaraz Khan gets dismissed 8 short of a well-deserved hundred.

Sarfaraz was looking good but was eventually caught down the leg side on 92.

Karun Nair is batting on 97!

India A 233/3 in the first inning!#ENGAvINDA #SarfarazKhan pic.twitter.com/pY7pCRmwZP

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) May 30, 2025

Nair, who was dropped on 89 off Ajeet Singh Dale, completed his 24th first-class ton off 155 balls.

Post that, incoming batter Dhruv Jurel and Nair started smashing the bowlers and changed their gears. Nair reached the landmark of 150 in 205 balls while Jurel reached his fifty in just 68 balls.

At the end of Day 1 of the 4-day unofficial test match, Jurel remained unbeaten on 82 off 104 balls while Nair remained unbeaten on 186 from 246 balls, with India A finishing with 409/3.