New Zealand faces a significant setback with Mitchell Santner being ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 match against Canada on February 17. Currently, with four points from three matches, New Zealand must win against Canada to advance to the Super 8 stage. A loss could lead to their elimination, depending on the outcomes of other matches.
Santner is unwell, and Daryl Mitchell will captain the team in his place. Lockie Ferguson has also departed for New Zealand to be with his wife, who is expecting their first child.
New Zealand had won against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates in their first two matches but lost to South Africa, which has affected their net run rate and chances for the next round.
Santner is recognized as one of the leading spinners in T20 Cricket and is also a reliable batsman.
“He had a dodgy burger last night, so hopefully, he will be okay in 24 hours. Cole McConchie is playing in place of Santner. And Jamieson has replaced Ferguson,” Daryl Mitchell stated.
In the meantime, Canada’s captain, Dilpreet Bajwa, won the toss and chose to bat first at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai.
Playing XIs
Canada: Yuvraj Samra, Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Navneet Dhaliwal, Harsh Thaker, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Dilon Heyliger, Jaskaran Singh, Ansh Patel
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell (c), Cole McConchie, James Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
