Cricket News : New Zealand lefts out Boult & Guptill from squad for India series

The T20I and ODI teams for New Zealand's next home series against India, which is set to start on November 18 in Wellington, do not include Martin Guptill and Trent Boult.

Both sides have the powerful opener Finn Allen, while fast bowler Adam Milne, who last competed in ODIs in 2017, is back in the group. Head coach Gary Stead has however said that the "door is certainly not closed to"

Boult and Guptill with "a lot of international cricket ahead". Boult chose not to sign the NZC central contract, but he has declared his desire to participate in the ODI World Cup in 2019.

Although Guptill participated in the recently finished T20 World Cup in Australia, New Zealand chose to bat Devon Conway and Allen at the top of the order instead of him. With 564 runs, including two half-centuries and a century, in 23 T20Is, Allen has had a bright start to his career. In eight games, the New Zealand opener has scored 308 runs in ODIs.

"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 high performance sport,"

Stead said in an NZC release.

"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. The message to both those players is that there's a lot of international cricket ahead and the door is certainly not closed to them."

"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."

James Neesham, an all-rounder, will not play in the third One-Day International in Christchurch as he prepares for his wedding; Henry Nicholls will take his place. Ben Sears and Kyle Jamieson were reportedly passed over for selection because of back issues.

Boult's removal from the squads leaves Tim Southee, Matt Henry (only for ODIs), Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner, and Milne in charge of pace.

The teams go to Tauranga and Napier for the second and third T20Is on November 20 and 22, respectively, before the tour kicks off with the T20I in Wellington. The first match of the ODI leg is on November 25 in Auckland, followed by the second game on November 27 in Hamilton, and the championship game on November 30 in Christchurch.

ODI squad: ODI squad:

Kane Williamson (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Tom Latham (wk), Matt Henry.

T20I squad:

Kane Williamson (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner.

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