Six IPL 2025-Bound New Zealand Players To Miss Pakistan T20Is

Michael Bracewell will captain New Zealand in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Pakistan, starting on March 16 (Sunday). The spin-bowling all-rounder captained the Black Caps for the first time when they toured Pakistan last year.

New Zealand’s regular white-ball captain Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and Bevon Jacobs will feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and were unavailable for the series. 

Meanwhile, James Neesham, Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are back in the T20I set-up after missing the previous series, and so is legspinner Ish Sodhi. Ben Sears, who missed the 2025 Champions Trophy because of a hamstring injury, has recovered completely and will also feature in the series.

Kyle Jamieson and William O'Rourke, who were part of the New Zealand squad that lost to India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai, are part of the squad but will only be available for the first three games of the series because of workload management. 

"It's a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country. I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we've got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice,” said Bracewell

"Mitch Santner's done a great job since taking over as white-ball captain and I'll really just be trying to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in.

"Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they'll be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy.

"For the guys coming back from Dubai, there's obviously a level of disappointment, but also a lot of pride in the way we were able to perform and represent New Zealand.

"We've loved all of the support we've received from afar and are certainly looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our own fans and in front of full venues."

New Zealand squad for five-match T20I series against Pakistan

Michael Bracewell (capt), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (games 4 & 5), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (games 4 & 5), Kyle Jamieson (games 1, 2 & 3), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O'Rourke (games 1, 2 & 3), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi