Overview:
Santner is one of the best spinners in the shorter formats of the game and is a consistent contributor with the bat.
New Zealand suffered a big blow as their Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 match against Canada on 17 February. With four points from three matches, the Kiwis need a win against the associate nation to qualify for the Super 8 stage, and a defeat could eliminate them from the global tournament if the result of other matches doesn’t go in their favour.
Santner is unwell, and Daryl Mitchell is leading the side in his absence. Lockie Ferguson is also out as he has returned to New Zealand to be with his wife, who is expecting their first child.
After defeating Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates in the first two games, New Zealand went down to South Africa, which impacted their net run rate and chances to make it to the next round.
Santner is one of the best spinners in the shorter formats of the game and is a consistent contributor with the bat.
“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 said.
Meanwhile, Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa has won the toss and elected to bat first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk in 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