New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has made a slight addition to their T20 World Cup 2026 squad, as pacer Ben Sears has been added as a travelling reserve. The all-format pacer will join the team in Mumbai ahead of their only warm-up game against the USA on February 5. It is a solid pick for the Kiwis, as they have had bad luck in terms of injuries to pacers. Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson are all injury-prone players and hence adding Sears is a good option.
Sears last played for New Zealand back in October, against Australia, before picking up a hamstring injury. Then, the 27-year-old made his comeback in the Super Smash, New Zealand’s premier T20 domestic tournament, where he ended up as one of the highest wicket-takers with 15 scalps at a bowling strike rate of 12.00. Sears’ call-up has come after New Zealand replaced injured Adam Milne with Kyle Jamieson in the main T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
“Ben’s worked hard to get himself back on the park and it’s been great to see him back playing and performing well,” New Zealand coach Rob Walter said.
“He’s had a full Super Smash campaign with the Firebirds, where he was the competition’s joint second-top wicket-taker from the round-robin stage with 15 wickets from his nine games. It will be great to have Ben with us here in India and ready to make an impact at the World Cup should someone get injured.”
New Zealand’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad
Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi
New Zealand schedule for T20 WC
| Date | Match No. | Teams | Venue | Local Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Feb 8 2026 | 4th Match | New Zealand vs Afghanistan | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 11:00 AM |
| Tue, Feb 10 2026 | 11th Match | New Zealand vs United Arab Emirates | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 3:00 PM |
| Sat, Feb 14 2026 | 24th Match | New Zealand vs South Africa | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 7:00 PM |
| Tue, Feb 17 2026 | 31st Match | New Zealand vs Canada | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 11:00 AM |
