New Zealand have never lost this badly to any side like they have in the ongoing T20Is against India. They are already down and out in the five-match series, with the Men in Blue having a 3-0 lead. However, it must be said that New Zealand did miss a couple of players in the series. Players who are also named in their squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. Well, now they have joined the camp. We are talking about Jimmy Neesham and Lockie Ferguson.
Jimmy Neesham and Lockie Ferguson in IND vs NZ T20Is
Jimmy Neesham was playing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), where his team, the Rajshahi Warriors, went till the finals and won the championship. The BPL final was played on January 23, and Neesham actually joined the team before the 3rd IND vs NZ T20I in Guwahati. He was set to play the game as well before missing out due to a niggle. Now, he will definitely be playing in the fourth T20I.
So will Lockie Ferguson, who sustained a calf strain while playing in the ILT20 last year. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer was set to miss the T20Is against India but has recovered well to join his team, which has been far inferior against a dominant Indian side. The Kiwi pacers have done nothing in the series so far, so New Zealand would hope that Lockie’s quick pace might ruffle some feathers for India.
When will Finn Allen join the team?
Meanwhile, Tim Seifert has already joined and has played the last two T20Is in Raipur and Guwahati. Now, coming to the main opener, Finn Allen. The dynamic opener who has been in tremendous form won’t be available for the fourth T20I tomorrow. Instead, he will join the team before the fifth T20I which is on January 31 in Trivandrum. Allen, who might replace Devon Conway up top, has recently won the Big Bash League (BBL) with the Perth Scorchers on Sunday. He was the highest run-getter in the tournament with 466 runs at an incredible strike rate of 184.19.
With this, New Zealand finally have their T20 World Cup 2026 squad assembled in the IND vs NZ T20Is. A few days ago, New Zealand replaced injured Adam Milne with Kyle Jamieson in their team for the T20 World Cup 2026. To accomodate the fresh names, New Zealand have released Kristian Clarke and Tim Robinson from their T20I team.
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
