Williamson, Boult rested for SL T20Is; Southee to lead

Pacer Tim Southee will be leading New Zealand in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed on Tuesday.

The country's cricketing body announced a 14-member squad for the three-match T20I series against the Islanders.

Regular skipper Kane Williamson and pacer Trent Boult have been given a rest for the series. Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill have been named in the squad to give the side a perfect blend of experience and youth. Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Todd Astle have been added into the team to bolster the spin-bowling attack.

"Following that amazing ride in the ODI World Cup, it's exciting to begin setting our sights on another world event. The series in Sri Lanka will be a challenging one against a team who are tough to beat in their own conditions," New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said in a statement.

"Our T20 team has been pretty consistent over the past couple of years and we're really happy with the power and versatility we have in this squad. Kane and Trent played an enormous role in our recent World Cup campaign and with a big summer ahead, we see it as a good opportunity to give them a rest," he added.

Currently, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are playing a two-match Test series. The first Test was won by Sri Lanka by six wickets.

The second Test is slated to begin from August 22 whereas the T20I series will start from September 1.

New Zealand Squad: Tim Southee (c), Todd Astle, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor.