Ahead of the Ireland tour, the New Zealand cricket team has suffered a major setback as all-rounder Mitchell Santner has been diagnosed with Kovid-19. According to an ICC release, the Black Caps were due to fly to Ireland on Sunday but Santner, who will captain the Kiwis in T20Is, will be at home ahead of three T20Is and as many ODIs later this month.
New Zealand’s head coach for the Ireland series, Shane Jurgensen, said Santner’s availability for the six matches against the Irish would not be determined until he recovers from Covid and returns to Dublin.
“Covid has been a challenge and will remain so in the future and we will adapt accordingly, contingencies are always there,” Jurgensen said.
“He is feeling fine and the priority is to bring him to camp with us, hopefully later in the week to assess where he is and when he can be ready to play.
“We’ve got 11 matches in three tours and one more tour against West Indies in August, which will include Mitch, so we definitely don’t want to rush him,” he added.
Santner was named as the captain for the T20I component of the series against Ireland, while fellow veteran Tom Latham will lead the Kiwis over the course of three ODIs.
The Black Caps recently had a terrific tour of England where they suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the Test series. The upcoming series against Ireland will help to re-establish itself and keep an eye on the upcoming T20Is World The cup is to be played in Australia later this year.
New Zealand ODI Team: Tom Latham, (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Dane Cleaver, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young
New Zealand T20 Team: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rippon, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos And cricket score Here