Mitchell Santner has been declared captain of the New Zealand white-ball team. Kane Williamson, the previous captain, left this post after the T20 World Cup this year. Santner is recognized as one of the best white-ball bowlers in cricket history. And now it is time for Santner to update his bio on instagram from “part time New Zealand cricketer” to the “new captain of the Black Caps”
Santner, a left-arm Off-spinner, aged 32 years, played 107 one-day internationals and 106 T20 internationals and got 108 and 117 wickets respectively. He also played 30 Test matches and took 74 wickets in total. He also scored 1066, 1370, and 710 runs in Test, ODI, and T20Is respectively.
Santner also observed the role of stand-in captain and previously the team played 24 T20Is and four ODIs under his captaincy. Now at the end of December, he will lead his team as a Captain against Sri Lanka, in a three-match series in their homeland.
He first captained the team in a T20I against West Indies at Bay Oval in November 2020 and became New Zealand’s 24th ODI captain when the team played the only ODI against Scotland in Edinburgh in 2022.
Champions Trophy 2025 will be the first important event that will be played in his leadership.
“It’s a huge honor and a privilege to be asked,” Santner said. “When you’re a young kid the dream was always to play for New Zealand but to have the opportunity to officially lead my country in two formats is special.”
“It’s a new challenge and I’m excited to get stuck into the important period of white-ball cricket that we have ahead of us.”
Head coach Gary Stead said Santner is the preferred choice to select as a captain across both T20 and ODI teams. Also, they don’t want to increase the burden on Tom Latham who is performing his role as Test Captain.
“In Tom Latham, we have an accomplished and experienced captain who has led the side admirably across all three formats,” Stead said. “Tom’s doing a great job as full-time Test captain since taking over in October and we’re keen to allow him to focus on that job which requires a considerable amount of time and energy.”
“Mitch is a fantastic team man and leads by example in all facets of the game. He’s an incredibly calm and collected personality and he has a huge amount of respect in the changing room, which will serve him well.” He further added.
“He’s had plenty of experience leading the T20 side and did a good job when he captained the ODI team last month, so he already has a good understanding of what it means to lead the team. I’m sure Mitch will also bring his ideas and style of leadership to the role.”
Santner recently received Player of the Match performances against India in Pune and England in Hamilton, making an excellent comeback in his Test career. During 2025, the team will have light Test match schedules.
