Wellington [New Zealand], June 27 (ANI): Several key players made their comeback as New Zealand announced a 15-member squad for next month's T20I tri-series featuring South Africa and hosts Zimbabwe, as per the official website of the ICC.

The Black Caps welcomed back the likes of Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, and skipper Mitchell Santner for the tri-series at Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe, after the trio sat out their most recent T20I series against Pakistan on home soil in March.

There is a call-up for uncapped batter Bevon Jacobs and pacer Adam Milne, while pace trio Ben Sears (side injury), Lockie Ferguson (load management) and Kyle Jamieson (family) are all sidelined, as is veteran Kane Williamson (unavailable).

The series will be the first for new Black Caps coach Rob Walter and will form a crucial lead-up for the side ahead of next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

'I think we've got a really strong squad for this tour and I'm looking forward to getting the team together and getting into the work,' he said, as quoted from the official website of the ICC.

'We've got some good experience in the side and it's nice to be able to welcome back a few of the players who missed the March series against Pakistan because of the IPL (Indian Premier League),' he added.

'It should be a great T20 tri-series with South Africa who are a very strong side and Zimbabwe who play well at home in their own conditions,' Walter said.

Walter is hoping to use the tri-series to help find combinations that can be successful during the 2026 T20 World Cup.

'With the T20 World Cup around the corner, all of our upcoming series are critically important to our build up,' he added.

'This series gives us the opportunity to test the breadth of our squad, explore different players and potentially different combinations against some quality opposition,' he said.

New Zealand's first game in the tri-series is against South Africa in Harare on July 16.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi. (ANI)