Auckland, Sept. 23 -- New Zealand have announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against India, with a seven-strong pace attack headlining the first BLACKCAPS squad of the home summer.

White-ball captain Mitchell Santner will lead the expanded T20I squad for the five-match series, which will begin on October 22 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch and will be played across four cities over 11 days, according to New Zealand Cricket (NZC) website.

The T20I series is part of India's 12-match tour of New Zealand, which also includes five ODIs and two Tests. According to New Zealand Cricket (NZC), more than 76,000 tickets have already been sold for the tour, one month ahead of the opening match.

Thirteen players from the...