Wellington [New Zealand], October 10 (ANI): All-rounder Daryl Mitchell will be retained in New Zealand’s squad for the T20 World Cup campaign in Australia and may recover in time from an injury for the first game against the hosts,” New Zealand Cricket confirmed on Sunday.
New Zealand have confirmed key batter Daryl Mitchell will travel to Australia this week with the rest of his teammates ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Mitchell fractured a finger on his right hand when batting in the nets ahead of the Kiwis’ tri-series at home against Pakistan and Bangladesh and his availability for the upcoming event in Australia had been in doubt.
Head coach Gary Stead admitted New Zealand’s opening match at the T20 World Cup against Australia in Sydney on October 22 may come too soon for Mitchell, but they hope to have the 31-year-old back for the latter part of the tournament.
“The good news is we have made a decision about Daryl Mitchell and he will tour with us to the World Cup,” Stead said on Monday in an official video posted by New Zealand Cricket.
“When we thought about the value Daryl brings to the team and the likely time frame…we are still hopeful he’ll be right for the first game but probably more realistically the second game. There will still be four pool games to go and then hopefully semi-final and final after that. Daryl has shown the value to this team and we feel it was the right decision to make,” he added.
Mitchell’s batting was a key factor in New Zealand’s success at the T20 World Cup last year in Dubai, as the right-hander amassed an impressive 208 runs from seven innings at a strike rate of over 140.
The highlight of the match was his unbroken 72 from just 47 deliveries against England in the semifinal in Abu Dhabi. The knock propelled New Zealand into the final against their trans-Tasman foe.
Following their campaign against Australia in Sydney, New Zealand’s second game of the tournament comes against Afghanistan in Melbourne on October 26.
The Kiwis are also monitoring an abdominal injury to key pacer Lockie Ferguson and are still hopeful the right-armer will be fit for the start of the tournament. (ANI)
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