The Black Caps were the first side to reveal its 2024 T20 World Cup roster on Monday, with Kane Williamson leading an experienced group of Kiwis. Two of the 15-man roster, bowler Matt Henry and batting all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, are the only ones who have never played in the T20 World Cup.
The only player in the team with greater experience than Williamson is veteran fast bowler and captain of the Dafabet Test team, Tim Southee. This will be Southee’s seventh appearance in a T20 World Cup. Trent Boult, a senior pacer from New Zealand, has also confirmed his participation in the competition for the fifth time.
According to a press release from New Zealand Cricket, head coach Gary Stead stated, “Matt has worked exceptionally hard on his skills across the phases of a T20 game to come back into selection consideration.” “Over the past 12 months, Ravin has turned every post into a winner, and it was exciting to watch him continue that trajectory against Australia in the Rummy Gold 51 format this summer.”
Stead added, “We feel we’ve selected a squad with the scope to adapt to those conditions. We expect the venues in the West Indies to offer quite varied conditions.”
Williamson made his T20I cricket comeback in January during New Zealand’s five-match home T20I series against Pakistan. Williamson had been out of the game for more than a year owing to injury. Due to a hamstring injury, he was only able to participate in two of the series’ games. However, based on his recent performances in the 2024 Indian Premier League with the Gujarat Titans, it appears that he has fully recovered.
Pace bowler Ben Sears has been selected for the tournament roster and will travel and train with the team in addition to the other fifteen players as injury cover. NZC added that Kyle Jamieson was not available for selection because he is still recovering from a back ailment, while Adam Milne was ruled out after surgery to treat an ankle problem.