Mitchell Santner Picture Credit: Twitter
New Zealand has suffered a huge blow ahead of their white-ball tour of Ireland as their veteran all-rounder Mitchell Santner has tested positive for Covid-19. Notably, Santner was named as the captain of the Blackcaps for the T20I-leg of the series.
The 30-year-old will remain at home ahead of three T20Is and three ODIs against Ireland later this month. New Zealand's head coach for the Ireland series Shane Jurgensen also gave a statement about Mitchell Santner's availability for the six matches against Ireland and talked about how Mitchell Santner’s selection will be decided after he recovers from Covid-19. The Kiwi squad is set to leave for Dublin today.
The priority will be getting him into camp with us hopefully later in the week: Jurgensen
“Covid has been a challenge and will continue to be in the future and we will adapt accordingly, contingencies are always in place,” Jurgensen said. "He's feeling OK and the priority will be getting him into camp with us hopefully later in the week to assess where he’s at and when he may be ready to play. We’ve got 11 games across the three tours and another tour to follow against the West Indies in August which Mitch will be involved with so we certainly won’t be looking to rush him.”
Really excited to get over there: Sodhi
The Kiwis will play their ODI games in Malahide on July 10, 12 and 15, followed by the T20Is in Belfast on July 18, 20 and 22. Talking about the tour, leg-spinner Ish Sodhi opened up about his excitement on playing in Ireland.
He said, "It's a place we don't tour very often, and it's been on the radar for a while. Really excited to get over there and see what cricket's like there. I've been there a couple of times for some brief stints, but for an extended period it's going to be enjoyable."
Blackcaps Squad for Ireland tour:
New Zealand ODI squad: Tom Latham, (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Dane Cleaver, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillip, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young
New Zealand T20 squad: Mitchell Santner (c) (doubtful), 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