The captain said he’s looking forward to playing a series back on home soil after being in India from the start of January.
The Black Caps' white-ball captain Mitchell Santner. Photo / Photosport
“It’s going to be a little bit different here, pitches we’re probably more familiar with, crowd as well is always exciting for us,” Santner said.
“It’s going to be an exciting series, looking forward to it and I’m only playing three, but I think as a five-match series, it’s going to be a good one.”
Santner will be replaced by test captain Tom Latham for the final two matches, while Devon Conway and Lockie Ferguson will also be rested for games four and five.
Eight members of the Black Caps squad which lost to India will miss the series, including Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips and Jacob Duffy, who have time off before the Indian Premier League begins, while Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman have a chance to rest before the Pakistan Super League.
However, eight other members of the T20 World Cup squad were named for the South Africa series, which Santner said showed the depth New Zealand cricket has.
“I guess when some guys are unavailable, we can call on different guys as we’ve seen over the last couple of years with the hectic schedule.
“So it’s cool, it gives some other guys an opportunity and obviously a couple of new faces that could potentially start as well.”
