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New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of the first T20I against Pakistan after contracting coronavirus. The Kiwi all-rounder tested positive for Covid-19 and didn’t even travel to Auckland with the team and has been currently asked to isolate himself. Pakistan will tour New Zealand for a 5-match T20I series, which is set to begin on January 12 in Auckland and will conclude on January 21 in Christchurch.
New Zealand Cricket announced the same on their official platforms and said that the cricketer would be monitored over the coming days. The 31-year-old will travel to his hometown Hamilton, where the second game of the series is scheduled to be played. In their official statement, Black Caps announced, "Mitch Santner won’t travel to Eden Park this evening for the opening KFC T20I against Pakistan after testing positive for COVID earlier today.”
The statement further read, “He will continue to be monitored over the coming days and will travel solo home to Hamilton.” Given Santner’s ability with both bat and ball, the Hamilton-born is a key player and his absence from the squad can come as a huge loss for the hosts.
New Zealand-Pakistan updated squads for 1st T20I:
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
Pakistan: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan
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