Australia stand-in captain David Warner has been handed a rest ahead of the Twenty20 International game against New Zealand.

The 31-year-old, who is a prominent figure for Australia in all the three formats has been struggling to find form in the recently concluded One-Day International against England and also the ongoing tri-series which also involves New Zealand.

Warner managed just 73 runs in five ODIs against England with a highest score of 35 while in the T20I tri-series he scored just 12 runs in the three matches.

“It will just give him a couple of days at home really,” said Darren Lehmann in Melbourne on Monday.

“It’s always a challenge with the schedule as it is, but David is really keen to play as captain. So we’ll give him a couple of days off and get him to New Zealand the day before the game.”

Warner recently went on to claim the ODI Player of the Year during the Allan Border Medal night.

Australia have already claimed a place in the final of the T20I tri-series with wins in the first three games and will face New Zealand next on 16th February in Auckland.

© Cricket World 2018