New Zealand announces squad for series against India, Guptil and Boult misses out

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.

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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.

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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)