NZ vs WI: Kane Williamson will not play T20Is, Tim Southee to lead BlackCaps vs West Indies

Kane Williamson will not play the upcoming T20I series between New Zealand and West Indies, starting November 27 and in his absence, Tim Southee will lead the BlackCaps T20I side.

Devon Conway and Kyle Jamieson have been included in New Zealand's T20I side for the three-match series against the West Indies. The first game will be played at Auckland's Eden Park and the next two are scheduled to take place at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.

Williamson and Trent Boult, who recently had a great run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in the UAE, have been rested for the T20Is series and will focus on the two-match Test series. New Zealand and West Indies will play the two Tests in Hamilton and Wellington in December.

According to New Zealand Cricket's media release, Southee, Jamieson and Ross Taylor are only available for the first two T20Is. With the third and final T20I at Bay Oval, Mark Chapman, Doug Bracewell and Scott Kuggeleijn will join the T20 squad as cover for the three Test players.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said it was truly exciting to be unveiling his first squads of the season.

"I think we're all very aware and appreciative of how much work has gone in to make this home summer possible - in what is clearly unprecedented times. The season schedule is complex and for the first time we're going to have a BlackCaps Test squad assembling on the same day we're playing a T20 International in another city.

We've got players at quite different stages with some having played almost a month of domestic cricket, some in managed isolation following the IPL and others battling injuries. Firstly, we have a challenging T20 series against an opposition full of stars with plenty of big game experience. The three-game series is over just four days so we'll need to hit the ground running to build some momentum for the summer," added Stead in the interview.

"We're looking forward to welcoming Devon into our environment for the first time and I'm sure he'll soak up the experience. 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 two-nil win over India and having Trent and Kane fully fit and focussed for the upcoming series will be crucial,' Stead further said.

Fresh from the IPL - Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Tim Seifert are set to finish their managed isolation on Thursday, November 26 and link up with the T20 squad that evening ahead of the opening match on Friday night in Auckland.

New Zealand's T20I squad for NZ vs WI: Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Seifert (wk), Ross Taylor