Santner, 32, takes the white-ball reins from Kane Williamson, who stood down from captaincy earlier this year, and will dovetail with Tom Latham as New Zealand Cricket continues its split format leadership.
Earlier this year, coach Gary Stead outlined that whoever succeeded Williamson would have to be in the frame for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
And now confirmed as the new skipper, Santner more than fits that bill. With more than 100 appearances in both 50- and 20-over formats, Santner is one of the first names on the teamsheet as a white-ball player.
Since his debut in 2015, Santner has played under Brendon McCullum, Williamson, Latham and Tim Southee. However, arguably his best example of leadership comes in franchise cricket, after years spent playing with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
As arguably the greatest tactical captain New Zealand has ever had, Chennai are coached by former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming, who has led the Super Kings to five IPL titles, and the now-defunct T20 Champions League - twice.
“With the franchise stuff now, the ability to play under a lot of different captains and with a lot of leaders around world cricket is always helpful,” said Santner.
“MS Dhoni at Chennai, Flem is a big part of that Chennai set-up and New Zealand set-up for a very long time. He’s probably one of our best leaders as well in that era.
“You kind of bank all that knowledge. It’s more [about] the way you want to approach the game and handle yourself. In the past, it’s been quite effective for New Zealand, the way we go about it. The off-field stuff has a flow-on effect.
“I don’t think much changes from me, it might be a little spin on a few different things.”
While he’s been given the nod to lead in white-ball cricket, Santner’s stock as an all-format player continues to grow.
Having been labelled as “not a threat in test cricket” by former Black Caps wicketkeeper turned commentator Ian Smith, Santner has made his critics eat their words in his latest outings.
The left-arm spinner took a 13-wicket haul in Pune to earn New Zealand a test series win over India. Meanwhile, his last appearance saw him snare another seven wickets to go with scores of 76 and 49 in the Black Caps’ consolation win over England.
As an all-rounder, Santner wouldn’t be alone in being a late developer. Traditionally, all-rounders do come into themselves later in their careers, after having to split their training and preparation time across more than one discipline.
Mitchell Santner took his 100th ODI wicket against Afghanistan. Photo / Photosport
And even though New Zealand’s reliance on fast bowling will likely remain in place for the foreseeable future, Santner understands his place as an all-format player.
“It has a flow-on effect. My role in test cricket can change from time to time,” he explained.
“When a pitch suits, or I get the opportunity, it’s about performing my role - which might change from first to second innings in a test match.
“But it’s [about] whatever I can do for the team, that approach we take into all formats, what can you for yourself to better the team. It’s no different in test cricket as it is in white ball.”
While Santner’s tenure may start with series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to end the Kiwi summer, the new captain will be in the thick of it sooner rather than later.
Across all three forms of the game, there will be at least one world tournament every year until 2031 at least.
In February 2025, Santner will captain New Zealand to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. A year later, the T20 World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka, before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
Should Santner continue post-2027, he’ll have a home T20 World Cup in 2028, Champions Trophy in 2029, yet another T20 World Cup in 2030 and a 50-over World Cup in 2031.
And with a new core of players beginning to emerge across formats, like the one Santner captained in Sri Lanka, the new captain looks forward to the chance to end New Zealand’s wait for a white-ball trophy that dates back to 2000.
“If you look in the next few years, there’s a lot of trophies up for grabs.
“But what’s made us successful over the last few years is that ‘fight for each other, play for each other’ [mentality].
“Results will take care of themselves, but we have an opportunity now to start against Sri Lanka, lead into the Champions Trophy and then lead into another couple of white-ball tournaments after that.
“We’ve still got a lot of experience in the group, with a couple of fresh faces coming in. You want these guys to feel welcome straight away, and they showed that in Sri Lanka.”
The Alternative Commentary Collective is covering every home Black Caps test this summer. Listen to live commentary here.
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
