New Zealand T20, ODI Squad For Bangladesh Changed, Key Player Ruled Out

New Zealand makes a change [Source: AFP Photos]

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has been forced to make a change to its national squad for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Bangladesh. A key fast bowler has now been ruled out of the series after suffering an injury while playing for the New Zealand A team in Sri Lanka.

The New Zealand national side is already scheduled to tour Bangladesh without several of its first-choice players owing to the coinciding IPL 2026 season in India.

Ben Lister returns as New Zealand suffer injury blow

New Zealand fast bowler Kristian Clarke has been ruled out of the upcoming white-ball tour of Bangladesh. The speedster recently suffered a laceration to the webbing of his right hand while attempting a catch in the second One-Day match of the series between New Zealand A and hosts Sri Lanka A in Hambantota.

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The 25-year-old, who made his international debut for New Zealand just a couple of months ago in India, will now be replaced by fellow ‘Black Caps’ paceman Ben Lister.

Lister has played three ODIs and 12 T20I matches for the New Zealand team so far since his debut in February 2023. However, the cricketer played the last of those matches back April 2024. Kristian Clarke’s recent injury has paved way for the out-of-favor cricketer to make his return to the national side after a gap of exactly two years. Here is an updated New Zealand squad for the ODI and T20I series in Bangladesh.

New Zealand squad for ODI series: Tom Latham (c), Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Ben Lister, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver, Dean Foxcroft, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Henry Nicholls, Will O'Rourke, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner and Will Young.

New Zealand squad for T20I series: Tom Latham (c), Katene Clarke, Ben Lister, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver, Matt Fisher, Dean Foxcroft, Bevon Jacobs, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi and Blair Tickner.

New Zealand to test bench strength in Bangladesh amid IPL overlap

Last month, the NZC named New Zealand’s entire ODI and T20I squads for the Bangladesh tour. Incidentally, several first-choice players like Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, captain Mitchell Santner among others were excluded from the national line-up owing to their coinciding IPL 2026 commitments in India.

With several members of New Zealand’s 2026 T20 World Cup-runner’s up squad prioritizing IPL 2026 over Bangladesh tour, the NZC is using the upcoming series as an opportunity to assess its bench strength and broader the squad’s depth.

Bangladesh changes schedule of series

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also announced a notable change to the series, albeit in its schedule, earlier this month. In a bid to save energy, all six matches of the series will have earlier starts so as to avoid the use of stadium floodlights.

The three ODI matches will now have a start time of 11:00 AM in Bangladesh as opposed to the originally-intended 2:00 PM. Even each of the three T20I matches will commence from 2:00 PM onwards. The series will be played between April 17 and May 2 in Mirpur and Chattogram.

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