Mitchell Santner is looking at this series as a crucial opportunity, especially considering his inconsistent Test career. In his last two Test matches, he had mixed results: a tough game against Sri Lanka where he took no wickets and conceded 82 runs, followed by a standout performance against India with impressive figures of 13-157. This highlights the ups and downs of his Test journey.

There’s no certainty about when Santner will play in Tests again. Last summer, he featured in just one of New Zealand’s four home Test matches. Glenn Phillips was chosen for his spin abilities against Australia. After the upcoming series against England, New Zealand’s next Test isn’t scheduled until July 2025, when they will face Zimbabwe.

However, Santner’s future with the white ball looks much brighter. New Zealand hasn’t had a full-time T20 or ODI captain since Kane Williamson stepped down after a disappointing T20 World Cup run in the Caribbean. The team has only played one ODI series since the 2023 World Cup – a series against Bangladesh. This current tour is Santner’s chance to secure a permanent captaincy role.

Santner seems more likely to step into the full-time captaincy for New Zealand’s T20 and ODI teams rather than focusing on making a comeback to the Test side, especially for the upcoming match at Hagley Oval on November 28.

Among other options at home, Tom Latham hasn’t played a T20 game since April 2023, Daryl Mitchell has never captained New Zealand, and the team may hesitate to give too much responsibility to the young Rachin Ravindra, who is just 24 years old. Santner, who has already captained New Zealand in 22 T20Is and one ODI, appears to be the natural choice to lead the team at least through to the 2026 T20 World Cup.

That tournament will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka, and Santner hopes for better results this time around. The last time he toured Sri Lanka, he only took one wicket across two Test matches while giving away 197 runs. “It wasn’t great,” he admitted with a laugh, but he quickly bounced back in his next match with some of the best figures by a New Zealand bowler.

Reflecting on his performance in Sri Lanka, Santner said, “I think my accuracy was a bit off. They’re good at capitalizing on bad balls, and they did just that.” He also mentioned that it was his first red-ball game after playing a lot of white-ball cricket, and it took him some time to adjust.

Santner later played in Pune, where conditions suited him better. Unfortunately, after bowling heavily in that match, he strained his side and missed the third Test, which was disappointing because Mumbai’s pitch would have suited him as well.

Even though many of his teammates headed home to prepare for the upcoming Test series, Santner stayed behind, ready for a longer stretch of leadership. “This series is really important,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of white-ball cricket coming up and haven’t played much recently.”

Santner is also excited about New Zealand’s younger players, noting that the team has a promising mix of talent and experience for the future.