New Zealand's Jamieson joins Williamson in missing India T20s

17 Nov, 2021

JAIPUR: Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson will sit out New Zealand's three T20s against India but rejoin for the Tests, coach Gary Stead said ahead of Wednesday's first clash in heavily polluted Jaipur.

Stead said that in view of the packed tour of T20s followed by two Tests in two and a half weeks -- hot on the heels of the T20 World Cup where the Black Caps lost the final -- players would be frequently rotated.

"You will definitely see that the whole squad will get match time here," Stead told journalists.

It's "about us managing workload of the players and especially with Test matches coming up, which will be a real key priority for us", he added.

"So it is a bit of a balancing act at the moment... It's a very, very busy time," Stead added.

New Zealand had already announced that skipper Kane Williamson would also sit out the T20 series and return for the start of the team's World Test Championship title defence in Kanpur on November 25.

Tim Southee will lead New Zealand for the first T20 in Jaipur, which in common with other cities in northern India is currently in a cloud of toxic smog.

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Its noxious air rivals that of the capital New Delhi, where in 2017 members of the visiting Sri Lankan team vomited and wore pollution masks while playing.

The second T20 takes place in Ranchi on Friday and the third in Kolkata on Sunday. The two Tests are in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7).

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