Black Caps include Todd Astle for T20Is

AucklandTodd Astle has been named in the New Zealand Twenty20 International squad to face Pakistan in the upcoming three-match series after a gap of more than three years since his last international appearance.

The 29-year-old all-rounder made his Test debut in 2012 against Sri Lanka in Colombo and after scoring 38 runs and picking up a lone wicket, it remained his only international appearance for the Black Caps.

Astle has the experience of playing in 92 first-class games, 39 List-A games and 35 T20 games in his career which spans over 10 years.

Making way for Astle is fellow leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, who was the part of the New Zealand side that took part in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson stated that Astle has been included keeping in mind the conditions the team will face in India for the 2016 World T20.

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With the spin friendly conditions we’re likely to play in during the ICC World Twenty20 in India, it’s important we have all of our bases covered,” Hesson said.

Todd is certainly an option for us. He has been a consistent performer for Canterbury over a number of seasons.

The only other change New Zealand have made to their squad which faced Sri Lanka in the T20I series is the inclusion of Tom Latham as a cover for Ross Taylor, who has been rested only for the first game.

New Zealand kick-start their limited overs campaign against Pakistan with the first T20I on the 15th of January in Auckland.

New Zealand T20I squad: Kane Williamson (Captain), Corey Anderson, Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (first game only), Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ross Taylor

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