Colin de Grandhomme ruled out of West Indies Tests, Santner to captain final T20I
Nov 25, 2020
Auckland [New Zealand], November 25 : New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme has been ruled out of the Test series against West Indies due to bone bruising to his right foot.
Daryl Mitchell, who made his Test debut against England last year, has been named as de Grandhomme's replacement.
Meanwhile, spinner Ajaz Patel will miss the opening Test as he continues to recover from a calf injury. Mitchell Santner will replace the left-arm spinner.
Santner, who is set to play the opening T20I at Eden Park on Friday night, has also been confirmed to become eighth New Zealand's T20 captain when he takes over from Tim Southee for the third and final match of the series at Bay Oval on Monday.
"The unavailability of Colin and Ajaz has obviously had a flow on effect to our T20 squad who are providing the replacement players for the Test squad," Coach Gary Stead said in an official statement on Wednesday.
"Mitch and Daryl will be available for the final T20 game, before linking up with the Test squad on Tuesday where we will monitor them closely to ensure they're fit and fresh ahead of the first Test on Thursday," he further said.
"I would like to acknowledge Mitch Santner for taking on the responsibility to captain the T20 side. It is a great honour to lead your country and I know his calm demeanour along with the sheer amount of international experience he's amassed in the past five years will hold him in good stead," Stead added.
Since debuting in 2015, Santner's played 138 times for New Zealand, including 44 T20 internationals.
His 52 T20I wickets are the most by any Kiwi bowler since his debut and he is currently ranked sixth in the ICC T20 bowling rankings.
New Zealand and West Indies are slated to square off in three T20Is and two Tests. The first T20I will be played on Friday, November 27.
