Mitchell Santner named New Zealand's interim captain for SL white-ball series

Mitchell Santner. Pic/PTI

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) named Mitchell Santner as the interim captain for the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka.

NZC confirmed that a new long-term ODI and T20I captain will be announced in the summer. The experienced spinner will lead a 15-man squad, which includes uncapped bowling all-rounder Nathan Smith and wicketkeeper-batter Mitchell Hay.

In March, Smith was recently crowned the NZC's Men's Domestic Player of the Year at the New Zealand Cricket Awards. He went on to earn his first central contract last month.

While featuring for Wellington last season, Smith scythed 24 scalps across all domestic white-ball competitions, including his career-best figures of 4/5 against Otago in the Super Smash.

Hay made his debut for New Zealand A last year and was adjudged Canterbury's Male Player of the Year back in April.

The batting department will feature Glenn Phillips, Will Young and Henry Nicholls. The trio will provide batting reinforcements, with Nicholls slamming an impressive campaign in the Ford Trophy last summer. He garnered 301 runs in six matches at 75.25. Tim Robinson received his second call-up after starring in his maiden international Pakistan tour in April.

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Michael Bracewell and Phillips will form a formidable spin-bowling all-rounder setup in the squad. The pace bowling lineup will be spearheaded by Lockie Ferguson, featuring Smith, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, and Josh Clarkson.

Six players, who are featuring in New Zealand's ongoing Test series against India, have been included in the team.

Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee and Kane Williamson have not been considered for selection as they have decided to prioritise the three Tests against England. The series will kick off in Christchurch on November 28.

"This [Sri Lanka] tour is the beginning of the build-up towards the ICC Champions Trophy in February 2025, and we also have an eye towards the 2027 ODI World Cup. Building depth is of critical importance due to the demands of the international schedule and the need to peak for pinnacle events. For that reason, it's particularly exciting to include a number of players that we believe represent the future of the Blackcaps," chief selector Sam Wells said, as quoted from a statement by NZC.

The white-ball series will begin with two T20Is on November 9 and 10 in Dambulla. The three-match ODI series will be played on November 13, 17 and 19. The opening ODI will be played in Dambulla, while the final two ODIs will take place in Pallekelle.

New Zealand's T20I and ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series:
Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Mitch Hay (wk), Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Tim Robinson, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi, Will Young.

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