Kiwi stars take casual contracts to commit for T20 World Cup

New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) New Zealand's white-ball stars Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Seifert and Kane Williamson have agreed terms to play on NZC international casual playing agreements for the 2025-26 season.

This means they are committed to play for New Zealand at the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka and a specified number of series and games in the lead-up to the tournament.

The quintet will all be available for selection for upcoming T20I series against Australia, England, and the West Indies, though Williamson has made himself unavailable for the series with the Aussies.

During the casual contract the five players will receive access to all the services that those on full-time contracts receive and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) CEO Scott Weenink said it was crucial to lock in the stars wit the next edition of the T20 World Cup less than six months away.

“With such a pinnacle event on the horizon we wanted to ensure our best T20 players were ready and available to push for inclusion,” he said.

“The casual agreements are a commitment from the players to NZC and the Black Caps, and in return NZC will offer our full support to these players as part of our high-performance system.

“The message from the players is that playing for the Black Caps is hugely important to them and I’m pleased we’ve been able to agree terms to have them casually contracted for the coming season.

“Rob (New Zealand coach Rob Walter) and the team have a massive period of cricket ahead, home and away, and I know myself along with all of our fans can’t wait to follow and support."

--IANS

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