Wellington, April 10 (IANS) Left-arm seamer Ben Lister has been recalled to New Zealand’s ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh as a replacement for the injured Kristian Clarke.
Lister, who last played for New Zealand more than two years ago, has been drafted into the squad after sustaining a laceration to the webbing of his right hand while attempting to take a catch for the New Zealand A in their second one-day match against Sri Lanka A earlier this week.
The 30-year-old seamer has four and 11 scalps from three ODI and 12 T20I appearances, respectively, for New Zealand. “Lister, who is also part of the New Zealand A one-day squad in Sri Lanka, will link up with the BLACKCAPS in Bangladesh on Sunday ahead of the ODI series which gets underway in Mirpur on Friday,” said New Zealand Cricket (NZC) in a statement.
NZC further said pacer Ben Sears has been ruled out of the ODI leg of the tour of Bangladesh after being signed as a late replacement by Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Rawalpindiz.
“Sears won’t be replaced in the BlackCaps ODI squad for Bangladesh and will instead join up for the T20 series which gets underway in Chattogram on Thursday April 30,” added NZC.
The New Zealand-based members of the contingent are scheduled to depart for Bangladesh on Monday morning. The first two matches of the ODI series will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, while the final game is scheduled to be held at the Bir Shreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium in Chattogram.
The action then shifts to the T20I series with back-to-back fixtures in Chattogram on April 27 and 29, while the final game will be held in Dhaka on May 2. New Zealand will come to Bangladesh on the back of being runners-up at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup before losing a home T20I series to South Africa 3-2.
--IANS
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