Jesse Ryder’s fall from grace continued when the big-hitting left-hander was left out of the New Zealand squad for the World Twenty20 starting next month in Bangladesh.
Ryder’s omission comes less than a week after he was dropped from the New Zealand Test squad following a late-night drinking session that ended just hours before the start of the first Test against India.
New Zealand selection boss Bruce Edgar confirmed that Ryder had been almost assured of making the World Twenty20 squad, but was ruled out because of his behaviour.
“We’ve had to exclude him from the tour. Character is really important as part of our selection process,” Edgar said.
The prolific scorer Ryder has been involved in several alcohol-related incidents throughout his career, and only recently returned to the New Zealand squad after a self-imposed 22-month exile to sort out “personal issues”.
Edgar said Williamson and Devcich were both among batting options to open with Martin Guptill in Ryder’s absence at the World Twenty20, to be played in Bangladesh between March 16 and April 6.
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Anton Devcich, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson.
