Devon Conway has been named in New Zealand's provisional 15-man 2024 T20 World Cup squad with Kane Williamson named as captain of an experienced squad, but fast bowler Adam Milne has been ruled out after requiring surgery on his injured ankle.
The squad also features veterans Tim Southee and Trent Boult, with Southee named to play in his seventh T20 World Cup. Rachin Ravindra and Matt Henry are the only members of the squad who have not appeared in a T20 World Cup previously.Ben Sears has been named as the 16th travelling reserve.
Conway had been recently ruled out of the IPL, as he was yet to recover from the thumb injury he had suffered in February. Despite being ruled out of the IPL, Conway has still travelled to India to train with Chennai Super Kings. He has returned to batting and has done some wicketkeeping sessions. He is set to be New Zealand's first-choice keeper and opener at the World Cup.
Williamson, meanwhile, returns to lead the side after missing New Zealand's last two T20I series - the home series against Australia in February because of the birth of his third child and the Pakistan tour because of IPL duties.
Milne was ruled out after requiring surgery on the injured ankle that saw him miss the tour of Pakistan. New Zealand coach Gary Stead said Milne's injury, as devastating as it was, had made the selectors' task easier in terms of picking the final 15.
"I think the injury to Adam Milne was really tough on him but it probably made it easier for us in some ways in terms of getting the squad that we wanted," Stead said.
"We knew pretty quickly that it was surgery that he required on his ankle. Thankfully he's had that now but he's going to be out for I think it's 10 to 12 weeks."
Kyle Jamieson is also unavailable as he continues his long recovery from another stress fracture in his lower back.
Finn Allen has recovered from the back injury that kept him out of the tour of Pakistan. Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham and Ish Sodhi are the only players who went on that tour who have made New Zealand's squad.
Stead said it was difficult to tell some of the players who had performed well in the 2-2 drawn series in Pakistan that they had missed out on the World Cup but stressed that it bodes well for New Zealand's future.
"I think when you go to World Cups you want experience and you want people that know what it's like," Stead said. "That certainly doesn't exclude those that have really put their hand up. I think that what's been really exciting about the tour to Pakistan. We've seen some performances from some younger players, that's really exciting for our future. And the message I had to them was, look, you haven't been selected in the side, but in two years there'll be another World Cup and that should be certainly a big enough carrot for you guys to put pressure on these guys that are here now."
Stead confirmed that the selectors had discussed the possibility of recalling veteran batters Colin Munro and Martin Guptill despite both being full-time franchise players. But the selectors opted to stick with a group that has been together regularly in recent times.
"Those guys were discussed because of the experience they have," Stead said. "But when you look at the group of batters that we've selected, there was no room for them."
New Zealand squad: 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, Tim Southee, Ben Sears (travelling reserve)