New Zealand have decided to drop senior opener Martin Guptill from the squad for the upcoming white-ball series (three T20Is and three ODIs) against India. Guptill didn’t get a chance in the XIs during the T20 World Cup as team management preferred the young pair of Finn Allen and Devon Conway which worked for them. Meanwhile in the series right after T20 WC, New Zealand Cricket decided to pick Allen over Guptill as the veteran opener failed to find a place in the 15-member squad.
Kiwi captain Kane Williamson talked highly of Guptill ahead of the India series and said that he will look to improve his game as the doors for him are not completely shut at the moment as he still has a chance for making it into the squad for ODI World Cup next year which will be held in India.
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Replying to a News18 Cricketnext query at a select media interaction organised by Prime Video ahead of the India vs New Zealand series, Williamson called Guptill one of the best white-ball cricketers to play for New Zealand.
“A few days ago we just finished the T20 World Cup and Martin was very much in that squad and playing at home the squads are slightly smaller, so you travel with less players and so the squad has been selected accordingly. But I mean Martin has been you’d argue our best white-ball cricketer ever for New Zealand or certainly right up there. So brings a lot of really good qualities to the team," Williamson said.
In 198 ODIs, Guptill has scored 7346 runs at an impressive average of 41.73. Guptill is known for his dynamic strokeplay and blistering sixes. Alongside, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Williamson, Guptill played a pivotal role in New Zealand’s white-ball revolution.
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Meanwhile, the 36-year-old, Guptill is the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in T20Is. In 122 T20Is, he has scored 3531 runs at a strike rate of 135.7. He is one of the few batters to score twin centuries in T20Is. While he is also the third-highest run-getter in T20Is after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Williamson talked about Guptill’s role in the recently concluded T20 World Cup and said he used his experience to share insights with the players in the squad.
“He was outstanding throughout the World Cup, even without playing, he certainly uses his experience to get alongside the players and I think that’s equally important. Real credit to him and, I’m sure as a player, he is still, like all of us he will continue to improve and add as much as he can to the sport," he added.
Allen, who will be playing against India for the first time, has made eight one-day international appearances for New Zealand and has 23 T20I caps.
“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," said New Zealand coach Gary Stead.
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner
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