New Zealand has announced their T20 World Cup squad to be held in Bangladesh. Much to the delight of the selectors, most of the players have selected “themselves”. This comes as a result of some strong limited over’s performance by the team in the recent times. Also, the selectors included players who are best at playing spin and rightfully so; as the world cup is going to be held in sub continent conditions.

Jesse Ryder once again has been excluded from the squad on disciplinary grounds. Ryder is at a crucial juncture of his career, where he seriously needs to think what is important for him. Kane Williamson seems to have taken his place .Roneel Hira and Anton Devcich come as an interesting inclusion and are exciting T20 prospects; it emphasizes the fact that the selectors went for a team that is competent against spin. Team will be captained once again by Brendon McCullum, who has done a decent job as a captain and batsman. McCullum is a composed captain who manages the senior and junior resources well in the team .

Martin Guptill has done very well as an opener and will continue to open probably with Devcich. Kane Williamson, on the other hand has done exceedingly well to retain his spot in the team, his average in the recent ODI series was 72 and that he backed up with a century in first test against India. His ability to play spin bowling well is huge plus to this team; with off spin being more than useful on Bangladeshi wickets. Ross Taylor is a big ticket player and ever since he secluded the “midwicket slog sweep” he has become far more effective. His IPL experience will be priceless. Taylor /Williamson pair is the crux of the Kiwi middle order batting and they are expected to play a pivotal role in success of this team. Ronchi has kept wickets well and can provide the aggression needed in the late overs along with Corey Anderson.

Lower middle order will be spear headed by the “raw” talent of Corey Anderson, who can quickly veer the fortunes of the game. He is quickly making an impact, especially in the limited overs format and the best is yet to come. Jimmy Neesham is one other promising all rounder, but his mettle will be tested on dust bowls of Bangladesh. Nathan McCullum off spin has been a revelation against Indian batting; he will continue to stranglehold the best batsman with his tight line coming over the stumps.

Tim Southee has been in a sublimate form over the last 6 months and will continue to be the center point of Kiwi bowling. Left arm pacer Trent Boult is included in the team; his ability to swing the ball both ways will test batsmen of any caliber. Kyle Mills will test the batsman’s patience with his tight line and Mitchell McClenaghan is more than passable and known for his temerity. New Zealand team is always known for their top fielding prowess and this team is no different; they add an invisible and invincible 12th man to their field. Shane Bond , the bowling coach has done a superior job in last 6 months to keep the bowling unit aggressive and impressive .His first acid test will be the T20 WC in Bangladesh , where the bowlers adaptability and ability will be tested to core.

Black Caps last tour to Bangladesh has been disastrous and they will be keen to reverse it this time. New Zealand has not won any major ICC tournaments in the last 10 years; but they do manage to upset stronger opponents in the knockout games in major tournaments. This team is more than capable of an occasional blitz and if they can punch above their weight collectively, they can assure themselves a spot in Semis.

Sportzcosmos XI : Guptill, Devcich,Williamson , Taylor , B McCullum , Corey Anderson , L Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee ,K Mills, Trent Boult 12th Man : Jimmy Neesham

Chandra Sanghubhatla [Chandra is the CTO of Sportz Cosmos and a Sports Analyst for the Cricket Galaxy. He tweets here]