Kyle Jamieson opts out of India T20Is to focus on Test series

New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson has decided to give the three-match T20I series against India a miss to concentrate on the two-match Test series. The first T20I is set to be played on November 17 in Jaipur while the Tests are set to commence on November 25. New Zealand's regular skipper Kane Williamson has already opted out of the T20Is to focus on Tests.

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The BlackCaps are playing the T20I against India within 72 hours after losing the 20-20 World Cup final against Australia. Their head coach Gary Stead stressed on the importance of managing the workload of players and cleared that Jamieson is being rested according to that plan only.

"We decided through talking with Kane and Kyle that they won’t play in this T20 series. They’re both going to get ready for the test matches and I think you’ll find there will be other guys involved in the test matches that won’t play the entire series either," Stead said while addressing the reporters in a conference organised by New Zealand Cricket.

He also noted that the team will be traveling to three different cities over the course of next five days with next two T20Is set to be played on November 19 and 21. "It’s a bit of a balancing act at the moment and with three T20 games in five days plus travel to three different cities it’s a very, very busy time," the 49-year-old added.

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New Zealand now have only 13 players to get picked from and Gary Stead also stated that the whole squad will get at least a game to play during the series. This clears that Lockie Ferguson will definitely be part of the T20I series at some stage.

"You’ll definitely see that the whole squad will get match time over here and that’s about us managing the workload of the players, especially with the test matches coming up for us, which will be a real key priority for us as we work through the next week," Stead further added.