New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is set to miss the Twenty20 International series against India, starting on Wednesday in Jaipur, to focus on the Tests. Tim Southee will lead in his absence, announced New Zealand Cricket on Tuesday.
The Black Caps arrived in India less than 24 hours after losing to Australia in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final in Dubai and will play the three-match T20Is series just three days after the runner-up finish.
Williamson will join New Zealand’s Test cricket group that are already training in India while apart from Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner will be available for both series.
“With the opening game of the T20 series on Wednesday evening, followed by games on Friday and Sunday night - the decision was made for Williamson to join the Test specialist group already training in Jaipur as they focus on red-ball preparation,” Black Caps said in a release.
New Zealand are the ICC World Test champions, having beaten India in the final earlier this year. The Test series begins on November 25 in Kanpur.