Aaron Redmond has been dropped from the one-day squad and wicketkeeper-batsman Derek de Boorder will take over the reins, with exciting left-hand batsman Hamish Rutherford replacing Redmond in the squad.
Volts coach Vaughn Johnson said the selectors had no choice, with Redmond enduring a prolonged form slump.
"The decision has been made for the sake of Aaron, really," Johnson said.
"He has been beating himself up and is probably trying too hard. I get the feeling a week or two away ... is probably best for him and also for the team at the moment.
"I'm not sure whether it [the captaincy] has taken away some of his concentration in terms of his batting. I don't think it has, really. But I just think sometimes, when you are out of nick, the harder you try the worse it gets."
The former Black Cap has been a reliable contributor for Otago over the years but has been woefully out of touch in all three formats of the game this summer.
He was dropped from the twenty/20 team with three matches remaining in the HRV Cup campaign. That would have been an easier decision to reach with Brendon McCullum charged with captaining that side.
But it is an extreme measure to drop the one-day captain before of such an important game and reflects Redmond's poor form.
In five innings, Redmond has scored 35 runs at an average of seven. His high score actually came in the last game against Wellington in Invercargill, where he scored 12 from 31 deliveries.
Johnson said the team understood the decision and "just have to get on with it basically".
Otago has made one other change, with Warren McSkimming replacing Jacob Duffy in the 13.
