Veteran batsman Ross Taylor was on Saturday dropped from an 18-man New Zealand squad named for the T20 International series against Pakistan while Kane Williamson will return from his paternity leave to lead the side in the second and third matches. Besides the 36-year-old Taylor's absence, fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who suffered a bone stress injury in his back, was also left out from the squad for the three-match series starting next Friday in Auckland.

Trent Boult, who was rested for the T20Is against the West Indies, will also be available only for the second and third games of the series along with Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson and Daryl Mitchell. Seamer Blair Tickner, batsman Mark Chapman and all-rounder Doug Bracewell will only be part of the first T20I. According to selector Gavin Larsen, Taylor, who made 38 and nine against the West Indies in his last T20Is, missed out because of the "quality and form" of the rest of the squad. Taylor has scored 1909 runs from 102 matches at an average of 26.15. "Their (Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway) inclusion and the return of Kane means we've left out Ross Taylor. This was, as you'd imagine, a very tough decision as Ross has been a consistent performer for us," Larsen said. "But unfortunately we just couldn't find room in the squad for him due to the quality and form of the other batsmen," Larsen said of Taylor, the first cricketer to play 100 internationals in each of the three formats.