Six T20 cricket regulars are unavailable for the Black Caps five-match series with Pakistan starting Sunday in Christchurch

Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and white-ball captain Mitchell Santner have Indian Premier League commitments, while uncontracted Kane Williamson wasn't considered.

Michael Bracewell will captain the side in Santner's absence, as one of seven players from the squad which made the Champions Trophy final.

The others are Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke and Kyle Jamieson - who split the matches across the series to manage workloads - alongside Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman and Jacob Duffy.

Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears, Zak Foulkes, Tim Robinson, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, Mitch Hay and Tim Seifert round out the squad, which assembles on Friday.

Sodhi says he's delighted to be back.



NEWSTALK ZB's INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COVERAGE WITH RESENE. DECORATE WELL WITH NZ'S LARGEST RANGE OF ECO CHOICE PAINTS