New Zealand Announce T20 World Cup 2026 Squad: Santner, Allen Return Despite Injury Concerns

New Zealand have announced their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, starting on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka. Five injured players, including captain Mitchell Santner, are part of the team. New Zealand Cricket has said all of them are expected to recover and be fit before the tournament begins.

"Finn Allen (finger/hamstring,), Mark Chapman (ankle), Mitchell Santner (adductor), Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry are currently injured but as per NZC release, they are "undergoing respective return-to-play plans and are currently on track to be fit for the tournament. Moreover, two players - Ferguson and Henry - have also been granted special paternity leave and they may end up missing brief periods of T20 World Cup as their respective partners are due to give birth to a child. "With Ferguson and Henry's partners due to give birth during the tournament period, they will likely be granted short-term paternity leave," NZC further said.

New Zealand name T20 World Cup 2026 squad, two players to get special leave

Tim Robinson was not selected, even though he scored an excellent century against Australia last October. This is because the team already has many strong top-order batters. Players like Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, and Tim Seifert have all been picked for the World Cup squad.

New Zealand are placed in Group D with Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, and the UAE. They will play their first match on February 8 against Afghanistan in Chennai.

"As always, the balance of the squad is critical. We've got plenty of power and skill in the batting, quality bowlers who can adapt to conditions, plus five all-rounders who all bring something slightly different. This is an experienced group and the players are no strangers to playing in the sub-continent, which will be valuable," coach Rob Walter said.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne Wellington, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi | Traveling reserve: Kyle Jamieson