Brett Randell earns maiden New Zealand call-up for final two India ODIs

New Zealand Cricket announced on Thursday that Brett Randell has been given his first international call-up to play for New Zealand in the fourth and fifth One-Day Internationals against India. The uncapped 31-year-old pacer recently returned from a County Championship season with Derbyshire. He is expected to appear in this series for the first time.

Meanwhile, New Zealand have also recalled Josh Clarkson for the last match of the series. Clarkson last played for New Zealand in an ODI against Bangladesh in April of this year. He has played in six ODIs.

Their inclusion comes after a string of injuries, particularly in the area of pace.

Rob Walter, the head coach of New Zealand, stated, "It's always a special time when a player earns their first international call up." “We’re very pleased for Brett, he’s been a consistent performer in domestic cricket for some time now and has earned this opportunity.

“We are fortunate to be able to bring in Brett and Josh because the series has had a few movements. “The weather looks promising this weekend so hopefully we’ll get to end the series on a high.”

Northern Districts’ pathway coach Mitch Renwick and strength and conditioning coach Corey Mileys have joined Walter and Martin Guptill for the fourth and fifth ODIs, while bowling coach Jacob Oram, batting coach Luke Ronchi, and S&C coach Chris Donaldson have departed to Wellington for Test preparation.

Squad for 4th ODI: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Kristian Clarke, Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher, Dean Foxcroft, Mitch Hay (wk), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Brett Randell, Tim Seifert (wk), Will Young

Squad for 5th ODI: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher, Dean Foxcroft, Mitch Hay (wk), Nick Kelly, Brett Randell, Tim Seifert (wk), Blair Tickner, Will Young