Devon Conway in New Zealand squad for West Indies T20Is; Kane Williamson and Trent Boult rested

New Zealand have called up Devon Conway to the T20I squad for the series against West Indies, while Kane Williamson and Trent Boult have been rested. Tim Southee will lead the T20 side, and experienced opener Colin Munro has not been considered owing to his BBL contract with the Perth Scorchers.

The South African-born Conway was prolific in the Plunket Shield, the One-Day Trophy and the T20 Super Smash last season. Recently, he also smashed 157 for Wellington against Auckland.

Conway, who qualified to play for New Zealand as recently as August, has also been included in the New Zealand A squad that will face West Indies in two three-day games in Queenstown.

"We're looking forward to welcoming Devon into our environment for the first time and I'm sure he'll soak up the experience. With Colin Munro heading to the Big Bash and therefore unavailable for the Pakistan T20 series pre-Christmas, the selectors are keen to look at other batting options at the top of the order," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.

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New Zealand veterans Williamson, Boult to focus on Test matches

Boult and Williamson have been left out of the T20I squad to allow them to prepare for the Test series. Both the players recently featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020), and were highly successful for their respective franchises.

"We've had to make a decision on Kane and Trent to prioritise the Test matches, given how important they are to our red-ball team and the fact they both played such big roles in the recent IPL while also managing injuries."

"There's no secret we're right in the hunt for the World Test Championship final following our 2-0 win over India, and having Trent and Kane fully fit and focused for the upcoming series will be crucial,” Stead added, explaining Williamson’s and Boult’s absence from the New Zealand T20I squad.

Kyle Jamieson, who has been in excellent form in the Plunket Shield, has also been included in the T20I set-up. Southee, Ross Taylor and Jamieson will feature in the first two matches before joining the Test team.

Mark Chapman, Doug Bracewell and Scott Kuggeleijn will come into the T20I squad for the final match of the series. Glenn Phillips has also been recalled after an impressive show in CPL.

Meanwhile, New Zealand are sweating over injury concerns to all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel.

"Colin and Ajaz have quite different injuries which are requiring different return-to-play protocols. It's too early at this stage to definitively say what their chances are, but we're hopeful the next two weeks will make that clearer," Stead added.

The T20I series against West Indies begins on November 27 in Auckland, just a day after the players who featured in IPL 2020 would have completed their isolation period.

New Zealand T20 Squad: Tim Southee (captain), Hamish Bennett, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Seifert (wicket-keeper), Ross Taylor

(Doug Bracewell, Scott Kuggeleijn and Mark Chapman to replace Jamieson, Southee and Taylor for Game 3).

New Zealand Test Squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wicket-keeper), Will Young