ICC T20 World Cup 2026: New Zealand Announce Final Squad; Mitch Santner Named Captain — Check 15-Man Team
New Zealand will play three group games at Chennai, a venue familiar to Santner, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell from their CSK stints.
Allrounder Mitchell Santner will be leading New Zealand's 15-man squad for the upcoming edition of the ICC T20 World Cup. The Blackcaps announced the squad for the tournament, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, on Wednesday.
Santner is currently recovering from an adductor injury. He will be arriving in India to participate in the five-match T20I series against India, which will be played ahead of the World Cup.
There are two other players in the Kiwi squad who are nursing injuries but are expected to be fit in time for the big-ticket tournament. Finn Allen is recuperating from a finger and a hamstring issue, and Mark Chapman is currently recovering from an ankle injury.
New Zealand Cricket in a statement issued while disclosing the squad, said that all the players who are carrying injuries were "undergoing respective return-to-play plans and are currently on track to be fit for the tournament."
Two fast bowlers, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry, might miss a certain number of matches, as they have been permitted paternity leave during the World Cup. Which specific matches the two bowlers could miss remains unclear.
"With Ferguson and Henry's partners due to give birth during the tournament period, it is likely they will be granted short-term paternity leave," NZC added in its statement.
New Zealand will be playing three of its four group-stage matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Interestingly, the squad consists of four players, Santner, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, who are familiar with the ground as they have played for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. The squad has also accounted for the spin-friendly conditions of the venue as Santner, Ravindra, Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips, all spinners.
New Zealand's fourth group game will be played in Ahmedabad.
New Zealand Squad
Mitchell Santner (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
New Zealand are pooled in Group D alongside South Africa, Afghanistan, the UAE and Canada. Their first two games are against Afghanistan and the UAE in Chennai on Feb. 8 and Feb. 11, respectively. The team will then head to Ahmedabad for the match against South Africa on Feb. 14 before returning to Chennai for their final group game against Canada, which will be played on Feb.17.
The tournaments get underway on Feb.7 and will run till March 8.
