Corey Anderson will return from injury as a specialist batsman in the BLACKCAPS upcoming One Day International series against India.
Anderson hasn’t featured for the BLACKCAPS since February due to a back injury, but played three matches for a New Zealand XI in Lincoln this week.
There are a number of changes to the squad of 15, with Anton Devcich, Jimmy Neesham and BJ Watling also returning after time out of the side.
The series begins in Dharamsala on October 16.
BLACKCAPS ODI squad for India
Kane Williamson (c)
Corey Anderson
Trent Boult
Doug Bracewell
Anton Devcich
Martin Guptill
Matt Henry
Tom Latham
James Neesham
Luke Ronchi
Mitchell Santner
Ish Sodhi
Tim Southee
Ross Taylor
BJ Watling
BLACKCAPS Selector Gavin Larsen praised Anderson’s work ethic in getting ready for selection.
“Corey’s superb professionalism throughout his rehab process has led to this point, and it’s a credit to him and the hard work he’s put in,” said Larsen.
“We’re excited to have Corey back. He provides power through the middle-order and knows the conditions in India well.
“He’s still working on his bowling and we’ll continue to monitor that, but for this series he will be used solely as a specialist batsman.”
Henry Nicholls drops out of the squad, though Larsen said the BLACKCAPS still have a number of options in the middle-order.
“India conditions are known to be quite harsh, so it’s really important that we have cover for all positions.
“Luke Ronchi and BJ Watling provides us with wicketkeeping and middle-order cover, while Anton is another spin option for us and can bat anywhere in the order.”
“The last time we played ODIs was in the Chappell Hadlee series and victory there helped us reach the world number two ranking. We obviously want to keep growing on that and this series is another massive challenge for us.”
Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Colin Munro and George Worker were all unavailable for selection due to injury.
The team departs for India on Sunday 9 October.
