Auckland batsman Mark Chapman and Northern Districts wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert have been named in the Blackcaps T20 squad for the remainder of the tri-series against England and Australia.
They replace glove man Tom Blundell and batsmen Tom Bruce, while Seth Rance also drops out as the squad is reduced to 13.
Chapman averaged 34.11 at a strike-rate of 171.50 in this year's T20 Super Smash, while Seifert averaged 32.30 at 146.81 and was the third leading run scorer in the competition.
Seifert holds the record for fastest domestic T20 century in New Zealand, making it off just 40 balls against Auckland in December.
Blackcaps Selector Gavin Larsen admitted that the selectors had been watching Chapman’s progress and are highly impressed with his domestic form.
"Mark has been very consistent over the past couple of seasons and has taken his game to another level in recent times," said Larsen.
"His ability to hit the ball in all areas makes him a real threat and we’ve seen in the domestic competition some of the power he possesses."
Larsen acknowledged that dropping Blundell was a tough decision, but said Seifert added a slightly different dimension.
"It's hard on Tom Blundell, but with Tom Bruce not in the squad we wanted to inject some further power into that middle order and Tim has shown he’s one the most dynamic in the country at that.
"We have some strong options with the gloves at the moment, but it’s about what best complements the rest of the squad and we think that's Tim for this series."
New Zealand T20 squad: Kane Williamson (c), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Anaru Kitchen, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ben Wheeler.
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