Williamson, along with Tim Southee, will be playing in their fourth ODI World Cup having featured in 2011, 2015 and 2019.
As was hinted by his omission for the first ODI against England, Allen does not make the cut. Allen did play in Southampton on Sunday in a rain-shortened game but picked up a second-ball duck. Devon Conway and Will Young are set to be New Zealand’s openers at the World Cup.
“We had to make a decision, ultimately, for the opening batting position and it came down Finn and Will Young,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “And we just felt that when we looked through what the potential gameplan was looking like in India, looked at the grounds, and also looked at the form of the two players as well that Youngy was the right guy to go with.
“We know the value Will brings and have been really pleased with the way he’s played in the last couple of games without going on to get a big one but it certainly looks encouraging.”
Stead added that the ACL injury suffered by Michael Bracewell earlier this year and meant required a further assessment of the all-round options available which led the selectors to Neesham and Ravindra, while Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips could also play a role with the ball.
Milne played at the 2015 World Cup and returned to the ODI side in 2022 after further battles with injury but has played just five matches in the format since 2017. He was ruled out of the ongoing England series with a hamstring injury.
Kyle Jamieson, who has enjoyed the majority of his international success at Test level, also missed out having recently returned to action after a back injury.
As with any squad named for an ICC tournament, there have been some tough calls and there will be some disappointed players,” Stead said. “The key for us was finding the right balance for the squad and making sure we had our bases covered for what is going to be a very competitive tournament.”
New Zealand ODI World Cup squad Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young
