New Zealand T20I squad for Pakistan series announced, Mitchell Santner replaced as captain

New Zealand National Cricket Team have announced their depleted T20I squad for the upcoming five-match home series against Pakistan National Cricket Team.

Kiwi captain Mitchell Santner won’t be taking part in the T20I matches against the Men In Green. Hence, a new captain has been named for the series.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Why did Harry Brook ditch Delhi Capitals? Nasser Hussain makes a huge revelation

Michael Bracewell replaces Mitchell Santner as captain temporarily for Pakistan T20Is

Bracewell, who was one of the stars of New Zealand’s successful ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, has been named as the skipper for the Pakistan T20I series.

He had earlier led a second-string New Zealand team in an away series in Pakistan, and his upcoming stint will be the first time he will be leading the Black Caps at home. Other than Bracewell, six more players from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad will take part in the matches against Pakistan.

The major names who will be missing the matches due to the Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments are Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and Bevon Jacobs.

Meanwhile, New Zealand will receive a boost with the return of Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, James Neesham, Ish Sodhi and Ben Sears. The tall pacers Kyle Jamieson and William O’Rourke will continue to be part of the squad but will only play the first three matches of the five-match T20I series on March 16, 18 and 21.

It’s a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country – Michael Bracewell

Speaking about getting the leadership, Michael Bracewell stated that he is quite honoured and privileged. He elaborated:

“It’s a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country. I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we’ve got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice.

“Mitch Santner’s done a great job since taking over as white-ball captain and I’ll really just be trying to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in.”

Michael Bracewell further labelled Pakistan as a dangerous unit and expressed his excitement over playing against them in front of the home crowd.

“Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they’ll be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy,” he said.

“For the guys coming back from Dubai, there’s obviously a level of disappointment, but also a lot of pride in the way we were able to perform and represent New Zealand. We’ve loved all of the support we’ve received from afar and are certainly looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our own fans and in front of full venues.”