3 takeaways from New Zealand's squad for T20 World Cup 2024
New Zealand announced their squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup on Monday, April 29, becoming one of the earliest nations to do so, before the deadline set by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The squad did not have major surprises, with the selections being carried out along expected lines.
The 15-man contingent, along with Ben Sears as a traveling reserve, will be led by Kane Williamson in the Caribbean, and the United States of America (USA). The Blackcaps have been drawn alongside the West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea in Group C.
New Zealand have performed reasonably well in the recent editions of the tournament. They made it to the finals of the 2021 edition and were in the semi-finals of the 2016 and 2022 editions of the competition.
New Zealand squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup
Kane Williamson (C), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, and Tim Southee.
On that note, let us take a look at three major takeaways from New Zealand's squad for T20 World Cup 2024.
#1 Experience galore
The major takeaway from New Zealand's squad is the immense experience they possess as a unit. Only two members of the Blackcaps team, Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra, will be new to the 2024 T20 World Cup, and they are no strangers to ICC events.
Tim Southee played his first T20 World Cup match in 2010 and got selected for the seventh straight edition. The likes of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, and Jimmy Neesham are all seasoned veterans who have been through a lot on the cricketing field.
Even the other members are reasonably experienced, with New Zealand not renowned for chopping and changing their squad too often. They did send a young squad to Pakistan for the recently conducted bilateral series, and despite some promising performances in the 2-2 series draw, they have stuck with experience over young blood this time around as well.
#2 Balance
Spin bowling all-rounders might go on to play a huge role in the 2024 T20 World Cup if the pitches indeed behave in a typical Caribbean fashion. The slow and sluggish wickets could use multiple and variety in terms of spin bowling options, and one of New Zealand's strengths is exactly that.
The Blackcaps will not have to compromise on the batting depth of their pace bowling department for the sake of extra spin strength or variety, as they have some of the most talented spin-bowling all-rounders in the side that add to the variety.
It is for this reason that New Zealand chose only one specialist spinner in their squad, in the form of Ish Sodhi. The likes of Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, and Michael Bracewell provide excellent balance to the team, with their spin bowling. Santner and Phillips showed their worth with the ball during the 2023 ODI World Cup, while Bracewell was in decent touch in the Pakistan series.
#3 Credible backups
New Zealand have enough options to turn to the bench if the options in their set playing XI do not turn out as expected. Rachin Ravindra, despite his shaky IPL season, is a solid backup opening option.
Matt Henry in the seam bowling unit is also a solid option to turn to with Southee, Boult, and Ferguson likely to be the first-choice pacers. Henry has been a good addition to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing IPL season and could have a say on the Caribbean wickets with his ability to nip the ball off the surface and tight lines.
There is not a huge gap between the bench players and the playing XI, and that is how most sides desire their squads to shape up. This is also one reason New Zealand may surprise many once again by making a deep run in the upcoming tournament.