Mitchell Santner appointed New Zealand's full-time white-ball captain

Mitchell Santner’s first series as a full-time white-ball skipper will be against Sri Lanka at home.

Left-arm all-rounder Mitchell Santner has been named as New Zealand’s new full-time limited-overs skipper, taking over the role from Kane Williamson, who stepped down from his position earlier this year at the conclusion of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where the Kiwis failed to go past the group stage.

Santner, 32, has featured in 213 white-ball international matches so far. Out of these, he has led the side in 24 T20Is and four ODIs in interim capacity.

The upcoming three-match T20I and three-ODI series at home against Sri Lanka will be his first assignment as New Zealand’s full-time white-ball skipper. It will be followed by a tri-series in Pakistan, which will involve South Africa, and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

 A huge honour and a privilege: Mitchell Santner

In a statement released by the NZC, Mitchell Santner said, “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.”

Hailed as one of the best white-ball spinning all-rounders in the world, and known particularly for his tidy economy, Santner is one of the only four cricketers to have represented New Zealand in more than 100 matches in both ODI and T20I cricket.

Head coach Gary Stead said, “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.”

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