New Zealand and India will attempt to put the disappointment of failing to win the T20 World Cup behind them when they start a three-match T20i series on Friday.
England hammered India by 10 wickets at the semi-final stage before beating Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday to lift the trophy for a second time.
The Black Caps missed out once again when they lost to Pakistan in the semi-final, having been runners-up to Australia in Dubai last year.
India will be without captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul for three matches against New Zealand in the shortest format, as the experienced trio have been given a post-World Cup rest.
Hardik Pandya will skipper the tourists, with VVS Laxman filling in as head coach as Rahul Dravid is also absent.
Laxman wants to see the India players express themselves in a series that gets under way at Westpac Stadium
He said: "It is important to be flexible. I think in T20 cricket, you are required to express yourself and that is when you will be successful. I think T20 cricket has shown us over the years that the more amount of multi-dimensional players you have, the better for the team.
"You have bowlers who can bat, and batters who can bowl, and that is the way forward. That has already been proven in T20 cricket, the more number of bowlers who can bat will add depth to the team and it allows a lot of freedom for the batters to express themselves.
"That is the need for the format and I am sure more and more teams will try to get that into their selection process and identify players who are multi-dimensional players."
New Zealand have won their past four multi-game bilateral T20I series and will attempt to extend that to five for the first time, with India being the last team to beat them in a series with a 3-0 success a year ago.
No Boult to strike for Black Caps
Trent Boult was not included in the New Zealand squad after a request to be released from his central contract was accepted in August.
They still possess a strong attack in his absence, with Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson set to be unleashed and Adam Milne back in the fold along with Blair Tickner
Experienced opener Martin Guptill was overlooked once again, with Finn Allen keeping his spot at the top of the order.
India need Pant back to his explosive best
Rishabh Pant only played twice in the World Cup, making three against Zimbabwe before falling for only nine in the crushing semi-final loss at the hands of England.
Dinesh Karthik had been preferred to Pant, but the experienced wicketkeeper-batter is not in the squad to face New Zealand.
Pant is only 30 runs short of becoming 11th player to score 1,000 runs for India in men’s T20Is and India will need him to explode into life.
'Still England's best bowler' – Australia's Lyon stunned by Anderson retirement
James Anderson retiring from Test cricket shocked Nathan Lyon as the Australian spinner believes England's veteran would still be their best bowler.
England great Anderson will call time to his storied red-ball career when Brendon McCullum's side host West Indies at Lord's, starting on July 10.
The Lancashire bowler leaves the international scene as England's all-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, with 700 dismissals in 187 appearances.
His wicket-taking heroics are the most by any pace bowler in Test history, and Anderson's decision came as welcome news to Ashes rival Lyon.
"Obviously, Jimmy Anderson is in the conversation of being the greatest fast bowler of all time," Lyon told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Good luck to Jimmy and I look forward to playing with him at Lancashire, but I'm glad he won't be coming out to the next Ashes."
Anderson's hand appeared somewhat forced as England started planning for the future, setting their sights on The Ashes in Australia across late 2025 and into 2026.
By the time that Ashes series arrives, Anderson will be 43.
Owing to Anderson's age, England coach McCullum, managing director Rob Key and captain Ben Stokes, want to test the likes of Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson as pace-bowling options.
With Stuart Broad already announcing his retirement after his last outing against Australia, Lyon could not believe England's decision to let Anderson go.
"My care factor for England is pretty low, but I was pretty surprised when I did read that they tapped him on the shoulder," added Lyon.
"I look at James and what he's been able to do for England cricket, it's pretty remarkable.
"This is just my opinion – I still think he would be England's best bowler."
Windies get major boost in rankings ahead of the T20 World Cup
A thumping 3-0 T20 International series sweep over South Africa propelled West Indies up the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings into fourth place, ahead of the much-anticipated T20 World Cup.
Despite missing a few big faces, West Indies managed to sweep the series, and that along with the rise in rankings should provide a significant boost to the confidence of the Darren Sammy-coached side heading into the June 1-29 showpiece to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.
With the series win, West Indies (254 rating points), the champions of the 2012 and 2016 editions of the T20 World Cup, are at the fourth place in the list led by 2007 champions India (264 rating points), with 2021 champions Australia (257 rating points) and defending champions England (254 rating points) at the second and third place respectively.
There were individual bright spots for West Indies in the series, who gained substantially in the T20I Player Rankings. This included stand-in skipper Brandon King, whose 159 runs helped him jump up five places to the eighth position in the Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.
His opening partner, Johnson Charles, who hit a blistering 69 from 26 balls in a Player of the Match performance in the third game of the series, gained 17 spots to reach the 20th place.
Meanwhile, Kyle Mayers (31st place in Batting Rankings) and Gudakesh Motie (27th place in Bowling Rankings) were the other beneficiaries from the recently concluded series.
These results bode well for the Men in Maroon, who will be looking for a record third title during their home T20 World Cup. They are placed in Group C along Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda.
They start their campaign against Papua New Guinea in Guyana on Sunday.
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings
India -264 points
Australia - 257 points
England - 254 points
West Indies - 252 points
New Zealand - 250 points
Second washout stops England and Pakistan's T20 World Cup preparation
For the second time this series, England and Pakistan saw a game abandoned due to rain, this time at Sophia Gardens on Tuesday.
After their opening game at Headingley was washed out, the teams endured another frustrating day in Cardiff as the umpires called off the third match without a single bowl being bowled.
England’s 23-run victory at Edgbaston on Saturday means they have an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series.
However, Pakistan have one last chance to level things at The Oval on Thursday before both teams head off to the United States for the T20I World Cup in June.
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