Kamal Ghorui
New Zealand women’s national cricket team have unveiled a 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England, striking a balance between seasoned campaigners and emerging talent as they gear up to defend their crown. The squad carries added emotional significance, with stalwarts Sophie Devine, Lea Tahuhu and Suzie Bates all set to retire from international cricket after the tournament. Their presence ensures experience remains central to the campaign, even as the team prepares to bid farewell to three of its most influential figures. Captain Melie Kerr will lead a group that retains strong continuity, with 10 players from the title-winning 2024 squad earning selection again. Devine and Tahuhu had already stepped away from ODIs earlier this year and have now confirmed this tournament will mark the end of their T20I journeys as well. Bates, one of New Zealand’s most decorated players, will also bring down the curtain on her international career after the event. Alongside the experienced core, the selectors have introduced fresh faces, with uncapped players Nensi Patel and Izzy Sharp earning call-ups. Patel, an off-spinning all-rounder, impressed with her domestic performances and made an immediate mark at the international level earlier this year against Zimbabwe, including a standout 3/8 in just her second outing. Sharp, 21, arrives as the youngest member of the squad and one of its most exciting prospects. A former captain of New Zealand’s Under-19 side at the inaugural Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup in 2023, she has transitioned smoothly into senior cricket since her 2025 debut. Her recent form has been impressive, finishing as Canterbury’s top run-scorer in the latest Super Smash season. Kerr, who was instrumental in the 2024 triumph with a record 15 wickets to win Player of the Tournament, will spearhead the spin department alongside Bates, left-arm spinner Flora Devonshire and Patel. Drawn in Group 2, New Zealand will take on England, Ireland, Scotland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the league stage. Their campaign begins against the West Indies in Hampshire on June 14, after warm-up fixtures against Bangladesh and South Africa in Loughborough. New Zealand squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup: Melie Kerr (c), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Lea Tahuhu.
