WELLINGTON: Top-order batter Tom Latham will take over as New Zealand captain in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan, with white-ball skipper Mitchell Santner missing out.

While eight off the 13 players named in the squad featured in New Zealand’s ICC Champions Trophy squad that finished runner-ups, there are fresh faces brought in the fray.

Top-order batter Nick Kelly and left-arm pacer Muhammad Abbas, both of whom feature for Wellington Firebirds in New Zealand’s first-class cricket set-up, have earned their maiden call-ups to the national side.

Among the major names missing in the line-up are Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips owing to their commitments at the Indian Premier League (PL) T20 tournament that started in Kolkata on Saturday.

Batting great Kane Williamson wasn’t considered for selection after the 34-year-old veteran of 173 ODIs made himself unavailable.

Will Young, who forged a century in the opening game of the Champions Trophy against Pakistan in Karachi where the tourists won by 60 runs, will join Kelly at the top of the order while Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith will solidify the middle-order batting.

In the bowling department, fast bowling duo Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson miss out. Henry is undergoing rehabilitation from a right shoulder injury, which led to him missing out on featuring in the Champions Trophy final against India in Dubai earlier this month.

Jamieson on the other hand, has been rested with the selectors managing his workloads. In their stead, Will O’Rourke, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith and Ben Sears will feature in a four-prong pace attack.

In the spin department, all-rounder Bracewell will be joined by 22-year-old Auckland Aces leg-spinner Adi Ashok, who has received his second call-up to the ODI squad, having made his debut against Bangladesh in 2023.

New Zealand play the first ODI against Pakistan in Napier on March 29. The ODI series starts after the ongoing T20 series – in which the hosts have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead -- between the two countries ends on Wednesday in Wellington.

The second ODI will be staged in Hamilton on April 2 and the third in Mount Maunganui on April 5.

Squad: Tom Latham (captain), Muhammad Abbas, Adi Ashok, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Mitch Hay, Nick Kelly, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Will Young.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025