New Zealand have called up three uncapped players allrounder Josh Clarkson, fast bowler Will ORourke and legspinner Adi Ashok - in their 13-man squad for the ODI series at home against Bangladesh. Tom Latham will lead the side as regular ODI captain Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, and Devon Conway have been rested ahead of the home season. Michael Bracewell (achilles), Matt Henry (hamstring), Lockie Ferguson (achilles), James Neesham (ankle), Ben Lister (hamstring) and Henry Shipley (back) were unavailable for selection due to injury. Trent Boult made himself unavailable. Ashok, the 21-year old from Auckland, had made his T20I debut against UAE in August and will be part of the squad for the second and third ODIs, when legspinner Ish Sodhi takes a planned break after the first game.

Ashok has 24 wickets from 18 List A matches. Clarkson, 26, has played 68 List A games, averaging 32.37 with the bat at a strike rate of 99.48. As a medium-pacer, he taken 27 wickets in 23 innings at an average of 26.55 with an economy of 5.31. Canterbury& ORourke, 22, has played 17 games, and taken 27 wickets at an average of 23.25 and economy of 5.01. The volume and intensity of the cricket over the winter this year means we need to strike a balance with workloads for players, particularly those that play multiple formats, New Zealand selector Sam Wells said. That need for balance also creates opportunities and it great to be able to give some players their first call-ups. Josh is someone who, while still only young, has played over 150 matches for the Stags, developing his skills with bat and ball to become a consistent contributor.

Adi and Will are both still fresh to domestic cricket but have been impressive in their early efforts and stepped up well this year in the New Zealand A matches against Australia A. Both offer valuable skillsets, Adi with impressive control as a young legspinner, and Will with natural bounce and variation as a tall pace bowler. The squad will assemble on December 14 in Dunedin, the venue for the first ODI against Bangladesh on December 17. The second ODI is in Nelson on December 20 and the third in Napier on December 23. New Zealand squad for Bangladesh ODIs Tom Latham (capt), Adi Ashok (games 23), Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Will O Rourke, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi (game 1), Will Young.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)