New Zealand 'changed team 3 times' before Pakistan match due to uncertainty around ICC clearance: Gary Stead

T20 World Cup: New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that they were originally not intending to play Ish Sodhi against Pakistan but brought the spinner when fast bowler Adam Milne was not allowed to be included in the team by the ICC just hours before the match.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that uncertainty around International Cricket Council's (ICC) rules around replacing injured players led to them having to change their team "three times" on the day of their T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan. New Zealand intended to play fast bowler Adam Milne, who was their intended replacement for Lockie Ferguson after the latter was ruled out of the tournament on the eve of the match.

"We tried pretty hard to get across the line with the ICC our replacement player, but it wasn't to be. That was really disappointing for us because Adam Milne is someone waiting in the wings as a like-for-like replacement," said Stead.