New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has returned from injury and will lead the Black Caps in their upcoming Twenty20 series against India, marking the team’s final warm-up ahead of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. The spinner had missed the recent Test series against West Indies due to a groin strain but has now been declared fit to resume leadership duties in the shorter format.
Read More: Mitchell Santner to lead New Zealand’s T20I squad in India
While Santner will skip the three One-day Internationals in India in early January as part of his recovery plan, he is set to return for the five-match T20 series later in the month. The matches are seen as a key opportunity for New Zealand to adapt to subcontinental conditions before the World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
New Zealand has announced their squads for ODI and T20I series in India in January. 🇮🇳🇳🇿
– Michael Bracewell to captain NZ in ODIs to keep Santner fresh & fit ahead of T20I and T20 WC later.
– Jayden Lennox gets the maiden call for ODI.
– Santner, Henry, Duffy, Rachin etc to… pic.twitter.com/cTTFFklp0u— NightWatchMad 🏏 (@NightWatchMad) December 23, 2025
Fast bowlers Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry have also been cleared to return after injury layoffs, although both will miss the ODI leg of the tour under managed workloads. Jamieson rejoins a pace attack missing Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne, who are currently involved in franchise T20 leagues and are expected to link up with the squad later.
Devon Conway has opted to cut short his participation in South Africa’s SA20 league to feature in both the ODI and T20 series and is the only specialist wicketkeeper named in the T20 squad. Meanwhile, Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes retain their places after promising starts to their international careers.
Read More: Mitchell Santner gears up for his 100th ODI
New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said exposure to Asian conditions would be crucial for the squad’s World Cup readiness, noting the contrast with playing conditions at home. The Black Caps, runners-up in the 2021 T20 World Cup, will face South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada and the United Arab Emirates in the group stage of the upcoming tournament.