Kiwi player Finn Allen to be unavailable for start of India T20I series

New Delhi: Opening Kiwi batter Finn Allen could possibly miss the start of India's five-match T20I series due to prior commitments with the Big Bash League (BBL). The series will start with the first match on January 21 in Nagpur and serves as a crucial preparation for the T20 World Cup 2026 which is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka next year.

It will be the second leg of New Zealand's white-ball tour with three ODIs slated to take place from January 11 to 17. But a report on ESPNcricinfo suggests that Allen might not be available until possibly the fourth T20I on January 28 if BBL franchise Perth Scorchers manage to reach the BBL final set to be played on January 25.

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The Scorchers are set to wrap up their regular season against Melbourne Stars on January 17 in Perth. If they do not manage to qualify for the finals then the player should be available for entire T20I series against the Men in Blue. In an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Allen said that pending selection, he will straight away head to India once the Big Bash finishes up for the Scorchers.

The 26-year-old New Zealand player would be one of the 16 Kiwi players who would be up for grabs at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction. He also happens to be one of the five layers who signed casual agreements in order to have some flexibility between playing for the Kiwi side, remaining within the high-performance system, and taking up franchise opportunities overseas.

'Playing for New Zealand is still, for me, the pinnacle and the reason why I love playing is to represent my country, Allen said. "But cricket's obviously evolving and changing year on year.

'New Zealand Cricket's been really good to work with over the last wee while. I'm confident about getting back into some Black Caps stuff after the Big Bash and hopefully can continue that.'