Williamson rested for Sri Lanka T20s, Southee to lead

New Zealand will be without their star man and skipper Kane Williamson for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, that begins on September 1 in Pallekele following the conclusion of the Test series. The selectors have opted to rest Williamson and seamer Trent Boult with Tim Southee named captain. Southee played just a solitary ODI in the World Cup but returned to the playing XI for the first Test recently that his side lost.

"Kane and Trent played an enormous role in our recent World Cup campaign and with a big summer ahead, we see it as a good opportunity to give them a rest," selector Gavin Larsen said.

Todd Astle, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner are the three spinners present in the squad that also see the return of wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert, who suffered a finger injury earlier this year. Seamer Doug Bracewell, who was a part of the squad for the games against India at home earlier this year, has been left out with Seth Rance coming in as the replacement. Batsman Tom Bruce, who hasn't played a T20I since February 2018, has also returned to the squad following an impressive outing in the Super Smash.

"Following that amazing ride in the ODI World Cup, it's exciting to begin setting our sights on another world event," Larsen further added. "The series in Sri Lanka will be a challenging one against a team who are tough to beat in their own conditions. Our T20 team has been pretty consistent over the past couple of years and we're really happy with the power and versatility we have in this squad."

Squad: Tim Southee (C), Todd Astle, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhome, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (WK), Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor