Mitchell Santner In Long Term Captaincy Plans For New Zealand: Gary Stead

Head coach of the New Zealand team, Gary Stead has opened up about the reasons for making Mitchell Santner the captain of the team in the last T20I match against West Indies.

Mitchell Santner has been named the captain of the New Zealand team for the third T20I to face Kieron Pollard’s West Indies. Regular skipper, Kane Williamson along with Trent Boult are been rested from the three-match T20I series after spending a couple of months in the UAE for the IPL. Tim will lead the Black Caps in the first two T20Is and is rested from the third game to prepare for the Test series.

He has a lot of experience in franchise cricket and international cricket: Gary Stead

Gary Stead commented on the decision to hand the Santner the T20I reins for one match. He said that the left-arm spinner is chosen to keep an eye on the future. The former Kiwi batsman pointed out that Santner has gained plenty of experience in the CPL and the IPL, along with more than five years of international cricket.

Gary Stead said, “I guess when we looked at a one-off game, we started looking at who were the people we were looking to the future and Mitch has a lot of experience through the Caribbean Premier League and IPL and being with the international team for a long period of time.“

He’s still a young man: Gary Stead

The 48-year-old thinks that this is a kind of a trial with Santner. Gary Stead opined that Santner, 28, is young, will have a long and bright future in franchise cricket and at the international stage. The off-spinner is a smart and thinking cricketer, which has prompted the Kiwi management to build him as a captaincy alternative.

“So, it’s somewhat a trial to find out how that goes and it’s part of our planning towards further down the track when we look at the future as well. He’s still a young man, and has plenty of time left in the game, so it’s an opportunity to see how he performs in that role,” Gary Stead added.

New Zealand is scheduled for a massive home season. After hosting West Indies, they will face Babar Azam’s Pakistan team- who have started their quarantine period after landing. Australia will visit their neighbours for five T20Is followed by a trip by the Bangladeshi team.

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