Emerging stars feature in New Zealand cricket's central contract for 2025-26 season

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) recently announced its list of players to feature in the Central contracts for the 2025–26 season. It includes emerging talents such as Muhammad Abbas, Mitchell Hay, Adithya Ashok, and Zak Foulkes, who have not played extensively at the highest level. Meanwhile, senior players like Kane Williamson and Trent Boult continue to remain out of the central contracts.

Regulars such as Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, and Daryl Mitchell have been included in the central contracts and will continue to be key figures for the Kiwi side across formats.

New Zealand's schedule for the 2025–26 season includes two Tests away against Zimbabwe, which will not form part of the WTC 2025–27. They will then take on the West Indies before the Christmas period. The key focus for New Zealand will be the T20 World Cup 2025 in India and Sri Lanka.

The list captures the depth and versatility of our talent pool: NZC CEO

New Zealand Cricket CEO Scott Weenink spoke about the central contracts for the 2025–26 season and noted the influx of new talent into the national set-up, highlighting the inclusion of Abbas, Hay, and Foulkes. He stated that they are ready to step up at the highest level and possess the hunger to perform for the Blackcaps.

"The contracts with Mitch, Muhammad, Adi, and Zak reflect the incredible talent coming through our system. These players have shown they can compete at the highest level, and their hunger to represent the Blackcaps is exciting. The list captures the depth and versatility of our talent pool," said Weenink following the announcement of the NZC central contracts as per ESPNCricinfo.

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Congratulations to Muhammad Abbas, Adi Ashok, Zak Foulkes and Mitch Hay who have all accepted their first BLACKCAPS central contracts ✍️ Story | on.nzc.nz/3SAivMe

05:35 AM · Jun 03, 2025

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New Zealand Cricket's central contract players for 2025–26 season:

Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, and Will Young.