Kane Williamson and Tim Southee to skip Sri Lanka ODI series to join their IPL squads early

Kane Williamson. (Photo Source: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Four New Zealand players have been given permission by New Zealand Cricket to travel to India ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League starting on March 31. The four players including ODI captain Kane Williamson will not be taking part in the forthcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka starting on March 25.

The four players namely Williamson (Gujarat Titans), Tim Southee (Kolkata Knight Riders), Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner (both Chennai Super Kings) will travel to India after the second and final Test against Sri Lanka scheduled to be played at Basin Reserve, Wellington from March 17, to join their IPL franchises ahead of the upcoming season.

Three more Kiwi players namely Finn Allen (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Lockie Ferguson (KKR) and Glenn Phillips (Sunrisers Hyderabad) will also be released from the ODI squad after the first match scheduled to be played in Auckland on March 25.

Mark Chapman, Ben Lister and Henry Nicholls will join the team as replacements for the above three players ahead of the second ODI to be played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on March 28.

Tom Blundell and Will Young will also mark their return to international white ball cricket in the upcoming series. Blundell last played an ODI back in 2020 while Young was last seen playing ODI cricket in July 2022. Tom Latham has been handed over the reins for the ODI series in the absence of Kane Williamson.

IPL 2023 to begin from March 31

“It’s always exciting as a coach to have new players in the environment and to have players putting their hands up to be selected again in a particular format,” Black Caps coach Gary Stead said on the NZC website.

“We are set to play 16 white ball matches between now and the start of May so there will be a number of chances for players to test themselves in familiar and unfamiliar conditions,” he said about NZ’s plans ahead of the ODI World Cup in India in October-November.

Meanwhile, IPL 2023 kicks off on March 31 with the opening game between defending champions Gujarat Titans and four-time champions Chennai Super Kings at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

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