Wellington : Mitchell Santner has been picked as Kane Williamson's successor as New Zealand Cricket announced him as the white-ball captain.
Santner was officially named as the white-ball captain by NZC on Wednesday, succeeding Williamson, who stepped down from the captaincy role in the aftermath of the ICC T20 World Cup in June.
The 32-year-old all-rounder will have the opportunity to make the role his own. He has a bit of experience in leading the Blackcaps during their recent white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
With 243 international caps to his name, Santner is thrilled to begin a new chapter in his career after taking the role from stalwart Williamson.
"It's obviously a huge honour and a privilege to be asked. When you're a young kid, the dream was always to play for New Zealand, but to have the opportunity to officially lead my country in two formats is special," Santner said in a statement released by the NZC.
"It's a new challenge, and I'm excited to get stuck into the important period of white-ball cricket that we have ahead of us," he added.
For New Zealand head coach Gary Stead, Santner was the most obvious choice for the role, and said, "Mitch is a fantastic team man and leads by example in all facets of the game. He's an incredibly calm and collected personality, and he has a huge amount of respect in the changing room, which will serve him well."
"He's had plenty of experience leading the T20 side and did a good job when he captained the ODI team last month, so he already has a good understanding of what it means to lead the team. I'm sure Mitch will also bring his own ideas and style of leadership to the role," he added.
For Stead, the decision to hand Santner the mantle for the ODI and T20I teams was based on the needs of the wider team.
"In Tom Latham, we have an accomplished and experienced captain who has led the side admirably across all three formats. Tom's doing a great job as full-time Test captain since taking over in October, and we're keen to allow him to focus on that job, which requires a considerable amount of time and energy," he remarked.
NZC CEO Scott Weenink is assured that Santner is a strong fit for the role and said, "Mitchell was a natural choice, being one of the first picked for both the ODI and T20 teams and being very popular and well-respected by his teammates."
"He's been one of the top-performing white-ball bowlers in world cricket for several years, and his experience will hold him in good stead as he takes over the captaincy roles. I know he will be a great leader of these teams," he noted.
Santner's first assignment as New Zealand's white-ball skipper will be leading the side in the upcoming six home matches against Sri Lanka, beginning on December 23. After that, Santner will need to shift his focus to the ICC Champions Trophy next year.