Resurgent Mitchell Santner is back for the Black Caps

After being sidelined for 8 months due to injury, Mitchell Santner is all set to make his comeback into the New Zealand cricket team. A knee injury had forced him to sit out in the month of March but the left-arm spinner has now made a comprehensive recovery and has been declared fit.

The Hamilton-born all-rounder was being troubled by an issue with his knee earlier this year. He was then advised to undergo a surgery which he did and so had to be out of action for the past 8 months. Meanwhile, he had to miss the home fixtures against England and also the Indian Premier League season for Chennai Super Kings.

The southpaw was supposed to play his first match since getting injury-ridden on Saturday, but the match was washed out due to rain as per a report in stuff.co.nz. He has been a vital cog in the scheme of things for the Kiwis and his return adds more strength to their arsenal.

Since his international debut in 2015, Santner has played 17 tests, 53 ODIs and 27 T20Is. He has 535 runs and 34 wickets to his name in Test cricket whereas in ODIs, he has scored 771 runs and picked up 59 wickets. It is noteworthy that he amassed 216 runs in his last 5 ODIs with an astounding average of 108.00, besides 3 scalps with the ball.

Santa Claws for CSK

It is well-known that Santner was roped in by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL auction earlier this year. If not for the injury, he would have made his debut in the tournament as the frontline spinner for the eventual champions led by MS Dhoni.

The buzz was that Santner might be released but the franchise retained him despite the fact that he missed the entirety of the 2018 season. Given that the New Zealand players will take part in the complete IPL season next year, Mitchell Santner’s come back has made the defending champions even more lethal and his services would add stability to the only vulnerable aspect of theirs ie, bowling.

~Written by Hari Krishnan

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