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WELLINGTON The New Zealand cricket selectors are gambling on injured captain Daniel Vettori and allrounder Jacob Oram being fit for next months limited overs series against Pakistan.
Both were named in the 15-man squad announced Thursday for the series being played in the United Arab Emirates.
The squad also includes one new international and three former players recalled after New Zealands stocks were decimated by injury during the recent Champions Trophy tournament where New Zealand were beaten finalists.
Vettori and Oram, who were unable to play in the final, remain subject to fitness assessments on their hamstrings while Jesse Ryder, Daryl Tuffey, Brendon Diamanti and Grant Elliott were not considered because of injury.
South African-born batsman BJ Watling is the new face following scores of 94 and 115 not out when he toured Australia with the New Zealand emerging players earlier this year followed by 97 with New Zealand A in India.
Scott Styris, Tim Southee and Nathan McCullum are back in the side while Aaron Redmond remains as a top order batsman after being called in to replace Ryder during the Champions Trophy.
Coming off a great performance in the Champions Trophy theres a confidence in the squad that we can do well in this series on neutral ground, said Vettori, who is now also a New Zealand selector.
Its disappointing that we will be without some key players, but our campaign in South Africa showed theres depth in the squad, with a number of players available to step up and perform.
New Zealand beat Pakistan by five wickets in the Champions Trophy semi-final before losing to Australia by six wickets in the final.
The series is being played in the UAE after New Zealand backed out of a scheduled tour to Pakistan when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore in March, killing eight Pakistanis and injuring seven members of the touring squad.
The first of three one-day internationals is on November 3 at Abu Dhabi and the series closes with two Twenty20 matches on November 12 and 13 at Dubai before both teams travel to New Zealand for a three-Test series.
New Zealand Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Aaron Redmond, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor and BJ Watling.
