Kiwi spin-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner has been appointed as New Zealand's white-ball captain across ODI and T20I formats. He will take over the reins from Kane Williamson following New Zealand's disappointing exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup earlier this year. Santner has previously served as an interim captain for the Black Caps captaining them in 24 T20Is and four ODIs.

However, his first assignment as New Zealand's full-time white-ball skipper will commence against Sri Lanka in late December. The upcoming Champions Trophy in February 2025 followed by the 2026 T20 World Cup will be the two major assignments in his captaincy tenure for New Zealand. 

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Santner expresses delight after assuming captaincy

During a close conversation with the all-rounder, Santner revealed that it had always been his dream to play for New Zealand and represent them on the biggest of stages. He further adds that it is a new challenge and looks forward to the opportunities that lie ahead of him.

"It's obviously a huge honor 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."

Gary Stead showers his praise on the all-rounder

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead remains confident of Santner's abilities to deliver the goods. He further revealed that Santner was the first-choice selection across both white-ball formats and speaks highly of his calm and collected personality. 

"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."

Despite his strong credentials in limited-overs format, Santner has been exempted from captaincy in the longest format. In Stead's opinion, Tom Latham has been doing a fine job as a full-time Test captain for New Zealand, and under his leadership, New Zealand went on to do the unthinkable by beating India at home by an unbelievable margin of 3-0. 

Mitchell Santner made history with his remarkable 7/53 against India in Pune, marking the second-best figures by a New Zealand spinner in Test innings. Santner’s performance showcased his skill and resilience, cementing his place in New Zealand cricket records. With a mix of consistent bowling and precise strategies, Santner led his team’s defense effectively against India’s batting line-up.

Santner’s spectacular spell

In just his 29th Test, Mitchell Santner achieved his career-best figures, surprising fans with a late-blooming brilliance. His 7/53 stands just behind Ajaz Patel’s iconic 10/119 against India in 2021, also in India. Santner’s control over the game was demonstrated through his four LBW dismissals, a rare feat that matches records set by international bowlers like Steve O’Keefe in India back in 2017. His wicket-taking prowess was especially noteworthy for reaching this milestone so early on, having claimed 54 wickets in Test cricket to date, making him third in line after John Reid and Richard Collinge for the most wickets at the time of a maiden five-wicket haul.

Record-breaking spinners in action

The Pune Test showcased exceptional performances from both sides, with Washington Sundar and Mitchell Santner each claiming seven-wicket hauls in the first two innings of a Test—a rare achievement not seen in over 25 years. The game saw an astounding 19 wickets taken by spinners across the first two innings, tying for the second most on Indian soil. Santner’s precision and Sundar’s dynamic bowling speeds added a unique layer of excitement to the match, with both players maintaining an impressive average wicket-ball speed. While Indian spinners averaged around 90 kph, Santner’s 82.7 kph strategy proved highly effective.

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India’s challenging Test series continues

India's struggle with conceding high first-innings leads has become a pattern. This Test marked the second consecutive instance, following Bengaluru, where India allowed over 100 runs in a first-innings lead. This scenario recalls the famous 2001 series against Australia, where India came back from a significant lead at Eden Gardens to secure a historic victory. With Santner's record-breaking performance and India’s ongoing challenge in managing early leads, this Test series continues to be one for the books.

The upcoming first T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan at Eden Park faces a substantial setback as key all-rounder Mitchell Santner has been ruled out due to a positive COVID-19 test. His absence extends beyond missing the Auckland match, with Santner undergoing self-isolation and independent travel to his residence in Hamilton, where the second international is scheduled. New Zealand Cricket’s monitoring measures reflect the challenges posed by the pandemic, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of cricket events and the ongoing efforts to prioritize player safety amid such uncertainties.

The impact of Santner’s absence is particularly noteworthy due to his versatile skills with both the bat and the ball. As a key player for the Blackcaps, his unavailability could pose challenges for the host team in maintaining their competitive edge. The setback underscores the ongoing challenges that cricket teams face in navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on player availability and team dynamics.

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New Zealand Cricket’s precautionary measures and the decision for Santner to isolate himself reflect the ongoing vigilance within the sports community to curb the spread of the virus and ensure the safety of players and staff. The situation serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of sporting events in the current global landscape, with teams adapting to unforeseen circumstances to uphold the integrity and safety of the game.

New Zealand are and are likely to continue to be the perennial underdogs. They don’t have too many flashy aspects on their side. A captain who is as cool as ever and is always smiling and a bowling attack that is well-rounded but not hyped always tend to fall under the radar.

2015 was termed as the time of their lives by Brendon McCullum. Hosts, playing some thrilling games, and making the Finals for the first time is proof as to why he said that. Under him, New Zealand changed their brand of cricket, going on the charge while becoming all the more friendly on the field. While on-field banter remains, sledging or getting under opponent’s skins came down, especially after the incident with Faf Du Plessis and the New Zealand side during the 2011 Quarter-Finals.

2015 seemed to be the honeymoon. 2019 though was all bravery and chaos. The unit made its way with what they had, the captain carried the ship and his side rallied behind him. On the field, they were incredible giving it their all each time the ball went through them.

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2023 though was a challenge on its own. New Zealand came in with Kane Williamson still recovering from an ACL tear. It looked unlikely for him to play the tournament six months ago, but a miraculous recovery let him come in and lead the side from the third game. His comeback though was short-lived. Against Bangladesh, he looked as fluent as ever but then took a throw to his thumb. The throw turned out to be more than it was with the fracture ruling him out for a few more games.

Matt Henry, their silent star in 2019 pulled his hamstring mid-way ending his tournament. Tim Southee too came in with his own injury concerns as did Jimmy Neesham. At one stage New Zealand had only eleven to pick from with four players in their fifteen injured.

They went into one of their games with the coaches getting ready to field in case one of the eleven needed a break. They fought with courage though, not bowing down to any challenge. Against Australia, facing a target of 388 did not deter New Zealand. Rachin Ravindra and later Jimmy Neesham teed off to get New Zealand very close. They fell short by four runs in the end but the courage was visible.

In the Semi-Finals as well it continued. Facing a target of 397, Daryl Mitchell walked in with New Zealand precariously placed. The ball started taking turns and the surface looked different all of a sudden. New Zealand, tasked with the challenge of batting under lights, which has been a challenge in Wankhede all tournament, did not back down once again. Fighting through a challenging attack and his own fitness with cramps hitting Mitchell went on to make 134. He kept New Zealand in the game and took the fight to the Indian bowlers.

If that was an act of courage, Rachin Ravindra through the tournament went into another realm. In his first World Cup, at the age of 23, Rachin Ravindra grabbed the spotlight. In the same place as his heroes, Rachin Ravindra scored the most runs for his side in a tournament that would seem like a dream to most 23-year-olds. With him, New Zealand will be confident in their next decade as they found a player with the potential to be a capable batter and left-arm spinner.

Unlike 2015 though the tournament did not turn out to be the time of their lives. They had a lot of struggles. Player availability was the biggest of them. On the field though they were far from their usual clinical self. Starting strong the cracks slowly started to show. Catches put down and inconsistency from their fast bowlers, particularly Trent Boult, remain big concerns.

Catching is normally an aspect that New Zealand prides itself on. This time around though that was a pretty glaring issue for them. A silver lining along with their overall standing though is Mitchell Santner’s performance. He varied the pace beautifully and was full of control in the middle overs for New Zealand.

Going on as one of the best spinners in the tournament, Santner could have more lined up for himself. He has led the side in the past and based on Kane Williamson’s future, Santner may have more opportunities to lead the side going forward. Overall, the World Cup was a tough one with few gains and few cons. The Golden Generation though did what they could, making yet another Semi-Final.

New Zealand won by 99 runs over the Netherlands in the 6th match of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The Netherlands won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, New Zealand managed to post 322 runs in their allotted 50 overs.

While chasing, Netherlands could only manage 223 runs before getting all out in 46.3 overs. Colin Ackermann top-scored with 69 but his efforts were not enough as they eventually lost the game.

Who said what after the match?

Tom Latham said: “We would have bowled. We did a great job with the bat. We managed to build partnerships. Put a great score on the board and the bowlers did a fantastic job. Partnership after partnership allowed us to go into the death a little bit earlier. I tried to be proactive with the changes. The spinners were outstanding. Mitch got the rewards. The big boys did a good job upfront. Great to see him (Lockie) back. Every ground you go to, it’s about adapting. We are not too far away (from having the full squad available).”

Scott Edwards said: “We were pretty good in the first 40 overs. They got away from us in the last 3 overs which pushed the score a little bit further than we were hoping. If we could hold them to 280-300 mark, the wicket gets a little better at night. NZ are a disciplined bowling attack, they are not going to make it easy for you. You are not going to chase down 321 with 40s, 50s and 60s. We will speak about that with the boys. Come the next few games, we have to put on bigger partnerships and bigger scores. For us, it’s another game, we have to play our best cricket and try to win.”

Mitchell Santner, who won the Player of the Match, said: “Not too bad, credit to the boys upfront with the bat, they gave us a nice platform. There was a bit of a hole in the middle but we did well to get past 320. It skidded a bit under lights but we contained them and bowled well. It was nice tonight, got a lot of purchase, didn’t bowl my best tonight but happy to get the rewards. We hung in and picked wickets in partnerships, we managed to take wickets like we did against England to slow them down. Today it was slower, held on the pitch and their spinners bowled really well too.”

Well, the 16th season of the IPL begins in less than two months. The tournament finally after a three-year hiatus is back to its original home-away avatar. This means that the spinners in the 2023 season will be vital cogs for all franchises.

That’s why teams like SRH and RR were shopping profusely to bag as many spinners as possible in the 2023 auction. However, sadly most of them still might warm the benches for the entire season.

Historically, the spin bowlers in the cash-rich league have been a pot of gold. In IPL’s top 10 highest wicket-takers list, six of them are spinners. Therefore in this list, let’s check out 5 spinners who might unluckily get benched for the entire IPL 2023.

Mitchell Santner

This NZ all-rounder has been associated with CSK since IPL 2018. The southpaw in IPL 2019 also made his debut. But sadly, Santner has never been able to play an entire full IPL season. It was only last year when the cricketer got an extensive opportunity to play 6 matches. So far Santner in the IPL is best known for his heroics against RR in the 2019 season.

Unfortunately, even in IPL 2023, this 30-year-old might barely play a few games. Though the home conditions might entice his participation, CSK still has adequate spinners in their primary front-line XI. By looking at Chennai’s frontline playing XI, firstly the likes of Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Maheesh Theekshana will be its core overseas players. Additionally, even if skipper MSD needs more spin options, the likes of Jadeja, Theekshana and Moon Ali are there to keep it intact.

In the above scenario, the yellow army might also get tempted to have Dwaine Pretorius as its fourth overseas player. The South African whose better known for his power-hitting display might also make the batting more dynamic. Either Devon Conway or Pretorius will eventually be Chennai’s fourth foreign player.

Comprehensively, Santner’s appearance might only become possible if either Ben Stokes or Moeen Ali are missing their participation. Or if Ravindra Jadeja has some fitness issues then CSK might directly replace him with Santner.

Overall for the yellow army, Santner can also be used as a specialist spinner in place of Theekshana. Who knows captain MSD’s wit might also exhibit this Kiwi as a surprise impact player.

Akeal Hosein

In recent times, Akeal Hosein has been WI’s budding T20 freelancer. The bowling all-rounder often is found appearing in different T20 leagues. In the 2023 auction, Akeal also bagged his maiden IPL contract with SRH. The spinner was signed for INR 1 Crore. However, this 29-year-old might mostly warm the benches on his first IPL trip.

Firstly, as the orange army has also bought Adil Rashid, he will be the premier frontline spinner. Barring this, Hyderabad’s other frontline overseas players will be Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips and Aiden Markram. Particularly in Akeal Hosein’s case, the cricketer is more of an adequate back of Washington Sundar.

Even on spin-friendly pitches, someone like Mayank Markande will be ahead of the Caribbean spinner for playing. Markande without disturbing the entire team combination will replace an Indian player easily.

Also with Akeal being a defensive spin option, chances are he might just be a backup reserve. Overall this WI cricketer can excitingly be used as an impact player. His batting skills could be used to up the ante, especially in powerplays.

Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa’s last appearance in the IPL was in the 2020 season. The Aussie spinner in his stint with RCB just played three matches. After that in the mega 2022 auction, Zampa went unsold. But currently, the leg-spinner has fetched a deal of INR 1.5 Cr from the pink army.

Despite having local spinners like R Ashwin and Yuzi Chahal, RR additionally has bought spin options in the 2023 auction. Hence because of this reason, Zampa might not start as Rajasthan’s premier spinner. Also when it comes to RR’s four overseas players, the likes of Buttler, Hetmyer, Boult and Holder will be on the frontline.

Even when it comes to playing an extra spinner, Zampa will lose out to his teammate Murugan Ashwin. The local bowler without harming the team balance will be able to join the company of Ashwin and Chahal. All in all, in IPL 2023, Zampa hardly will be seen donning the RR jersey.

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Noor Ahmad

Coming from the eternal land of leg-spinners, Noor Ahmad was signed by the GT franchise in IPL 2022. In the mega auction, the youngster was picked to be a backup for his senior Rashid Khan. However, the 18-year-old is yet to debut in the cash-rich league. Unfortunately, even in IPL 2023, Noor might not make his appearance.

Firstly as the back up of Rashid Khan, the Afghan skipper barely misses T20 games. Even when it comes to playing as a second or third spinner in the playing XI, Noor has other peers like R Sai Kishore and Jayant Yadav. More importantly, as GT likes playing with an overseas pacer, Noor can only play in place of Rashid.

That’s why in the 2023 season, this Afghan bowler will be a benchwarmer. Hopefully, the franchise will continue to groom him and get him ready like his Afghan senior. However, skipper Pandya on spin-aiding pitches might take a punt with Noor’s left-arm wrist spin.

Murugan Ashwin

This cricketer in IPL 2022 represented the MI franchise. The 32-year-old was signed to be Mumbai’s premier leg-spinner. Some even compared his signing to how Rahul Chahar was picked in the 2018 mega auction. However, Murugan Ashwin had a decent IPL in 2022. Bitterly, MI also released him ahead of the 2023 auction.

Currently, the pink army has now signed this spinner for INR 20 Lakh. As a direct backup of either Ravi Ashwin or Yuzi Chahal, Murugan will be present in the Rajasthan dugout. Probably the only way M Ashwin will feature in the playing XI is when either Ashwin or Chahal aren’t available. Maybe if R Ashwin has some fitness issues only then the leggier will get an entry.

Overall, this bowler is yet to play a full IPL season since his debut in 2016. Optimistically in some way or at some stage, M Ashwin might get to don the RR jersey.

For the second consecutive time in this T20I series, India and New Zealand got a pitch where it gripped and turned. But unlike Ranchi, where competent batsmen of spin could find runs, Lucknow was a furnace for batsmen. Anyone who could bowl spin was in with a chance of taking a wicket. That seamer bowled only 9.5 off the 39.5 overs, and India reached the target of 100 runs with just a ball to spare, would tell the story.

The pitch took out an even contest between bat and ball. You could argue that in T20s the balance of the game is heavily tilted in batsmen’s favour. But it is what the format dictates. Thousands of people sacrifice their evenings to turn up at a stadium or switch their television sets or open their OTT platforms to watch batsmen teeing off from the start. It is the format at the forefront of cricket’s changing landscape – where even teams are getting to play even aggressively in Tests.

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India beat NZ on another turning track, levels T20 series

It has largely been possible because the groundsmen take demons out of the pitch, where they give the batsmen the ideal conditions to prosper. But at Lucknow, they had served what former India batsman Gautam Gambhir called a “sub-standard pitch” on Star Sports studio. Not without a reason, as not a single six was hit in the match. Unlike Tests and the ODIs where the characteristics of the pitches tend to vary from country to country, the unaccepted universal code for T20s is to roll out a flat deck.

This was a pitch where India would have preferred having Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in their top three rather than Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tripathi. In 2015 as England pressed a reset button in limited-overs, one of the key aspects that often goes unnoticed was the revamping of seaming pitches into batting paradises. The curators dished out light brown pitches with plenty of runs on it and the right set of players – finger spinners, wrist-spinners, hit-the-deck pacers – to make the most out of the conditions. Fours years later, they won the World Cup.

Mitchell Santner has been named captain of New Zealand’s T20I squad for the series in India that begins later this month. Kane Williamson and Tim Southee will both be absent, having chosen not to travel after the ongoing series in Pakistan. Ben Lister, the 27-year-old Auckland fast bowler, is a first time inclusion in the New Zealand squad. He had toured India as part of the New Zealand A squad late last year. Was named Auckland Cricket’s Men’s Bowler of the Year last season.

“Ben has made an exciting impact for Auckland early in his career in red and white-ball cricket,” New Zealand’s chief selector Gavin Larsen said. “Since his debut in late 2017, he is the Aces’ leading wicket-taker in T20 and List A cricket. His ability to swing the ball considerably as a left-armer is particularly exciting. “We all felt for Ben after his tour ended the way it did last year, and it’s a testament to his work ethic. That he’s been able to return to domestic cricket so strongly this season.”

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Mitchell Santner to lead New Zealand in India T20Is

Lister’s A-team tour of India had ended abruptly when he came down with pneumonia and had to be hospitalised in Bengaluru before returning home. He’s taken five wickets in three Super Smash matches for Auckland so far this season. With Williamson and Southee not travelling to India after the tour of Pakistan. New Zealand will be led by Tom Latham in the ODIs and Santner in the T20Is. Santner has led New Zealand in 11 T20Is – eight of which were in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands last year.

The New Zealand team is presently in Pakistan where they have one match to go in the three-ODI series that is level at 1-1, after having drawn the two-Test series 0-0. They will then travel to India for three ODIs in Hyderabad (January 18). Raipur (January 21) and Indore (January 24), before the three T20Is in Ranchi (January 27). Lucknow (January 29) and Ahmedabad (February 1).

New Zealand’s T20I squad for India: Mitchell Santner (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner