Astle has yet to make his Twenty20 International debut
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
New Zealand have included uncapped spinner Todd Astle in their squad for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan.
Astle played one Test for New Zealand three years ago, but has yet to be capped in the other two formats of the game.
With Astle coming into the side, New Zealand dropped fellow spinner Ish Sodhi as they only need a limited number of spinners when playing at home.
“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,” New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson said. “Todd is certainly an option for us. He has been a consistent performer for Canterbury over a number of seasons.”
Meanwhile, batsman Tom Latham has been called up as a cover for Ross Taylor as he will be rested for the first match on Friday in Auckland.
Nathan McCullum and Tim Southee were not considered for selection as the former is still nursing a knee injury, while the latter injured his left foot during the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka.
New Zealand T20 squad: Kane Williamson (capt.), 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