Tom Latham ruled out of first T20I vs Bangladesh, Nick Kelly named new New Zealand captain

On Monday, April 27, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) issued an injury update on the New Zealand National Cricket Team skipper, Tom Latham, ahead of the T20I series opener against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team.

NZC revealed that Tom Latham has been ruled out of the first match of the three-match T20I series between New Zealand and Bangladesh, which will be played at Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram.

Tom Latham suffers a toe injury

Latham picked up a toe injury while training on Sunday, and he sustained a laceration below the toenail, which has ruled him out of the first T20I. NZC has named Nick Kelly as the skipper of the BlackCaps in the absence of Latham.

"BLACKCAPS captain Tom Latham has been ruled out of today's first T20I against Bangladesh after being struck by the ball on his right big toe while batting at training yesterday," NZC stated.

"Latham sustained a laceration below the toenail, and his availability for the remainder of the series will be assessed game by game. Wellington Firebirds' batter Nick Kelly will captain in Latham's place and become the BLACKCAPS 13th T20I captain."

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Nick Kelly's previous record

Left-hand batter Kelly made fifties in both the second and the third ODIs of the ongoing tour in Bangladesh. New Zealand lost both those matches. So far, he has played just five T20Is - all of them in the five-match series against South Africa in March this year - and has scored 57 runs at an average of 14.25.

Kelly has been the skipper of the Wellington Firebirds in New Zealand domestic cricket since 2023. In three seasons, Kelly has led Wellington to just one playoff appearance, where the Firebirds finished third. Kelly also oversaw his team to a last-place finish in Super Smash 2025/26.

Read NZC's appointment post here:

A brief update ahead of this evening's match.#BANvNZ pic.twitter.com/FLwsP1zmfE

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) April 27, 2026

Major New Zealand stars missing

Since New Zealand's tour to Bangladesh has clashed with the IPL, the NZC has decided to give an opportunity to fringe players. New Zealand's biggest stars like Mitchell Santner, Finn Allen, and Tim Seifert are busy with their IPL commitments.

Tom Latham is already New Zealand's full-time captain in Test cricket, but has been taking the role in an interim captaincy on fringe white-ball tours like this one for years. Unless his injury aggravates, he will be expected to take charge in the second and third T20Is.

New Zealand's upcoming matches

New Zealand have lost the ODI series on their current tour of Bangladesh by a margin of 2-1. The first T20I takes place on Monday, 27 April, while the second and third matches will take place on 29 April and 2 May, respectively.

Tom Latham will be expected to come back as captain for New Zealand's next major assignment - the Test series against England in June. Before that series, the BlackCaps will also play a one-off Test against Ireland in Belfast.