New Delhi, Dec 18 Left-arm spin all-rounder Mitchell Santner has been appointed as New Zealand’s new white-ball captain. Santner will be taking over the leadership role from Kane Williamson, who stepped down following New Zealand’s group-stage exit from Men’s T20 World Cup in June.
Santner previously led New Zealand in 24 T20Is and four ODIs, and will begin his full-time captaincy tenure through the upcoming T20I and ODI series at home against Sri Lanka, starting with the series opener in the shortest format happening at Bay Oval on December 28. It will be followed by New Zealand playing an ODI tri-series in Pakistan in February, followed by the ICC Champions Trophy and a home T20I and ODI series against the same opposition.
“It's obviously a huge honour and a privilege to be asked. 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.”
“There’s obviously a little bit of a changing of the guard with some of our experienced players at the back end of their careers. I think that’s exciting for the remainder of the group and the young players to now take on the challenge and drive this team forward to further success,” said Santner in a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) statement on Wednesday.
Head coach Gary Stead said Santner was a great fit for the role, considering they were also conscious of not putting in too much load on Test captain Tom Latham. “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’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 own ideas and style of leadership to the role.”
“In Tom Latham we have an accomplished and experienced captain who has led the side admirably across all three formats. 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,” he concluded.
--IANS
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