NZ vs PAK: Mitchell Santner To Miss 1st T20I against Pakistan After Testing Positive For COVID-19

New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner will not be featuring in the first T20I of the five-match series against Pakistan on Friday after being tested positive for COVID-19.

The first T20I of the five-match series between New Zealand and Pakistan will take place today at Auckland's Eden Park.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the news of the all-rounder's infection.

"Mitch Santner won't travel to Eden Park this evening for the opening KFC T20I against Pakistan after testing positive for COVID earlier today. He will continue to be monitored over the coming days and will travel solo home to Hamilton. #NZvPAK," tweeted NZC.

New Zealand to miss Santner's services in the first T20I

Mitchell Santner missing out the first T20I against Pakistan due to COVID-19 is a big blow for New Zealand as he is one of the most instrumental players in T20I setup.

Santner is a key player in the Kiwi T20I set-up, with 610 runs in 64 innings at an average of 16.94, with one half-century. He has also taken 105 wickets in 93 matches.

With the Santner being absent from first T20I, New Zealand decided to add Ish Sodhi to the playing XI in the series opener against Pakistan

New Zealand and Pakistan Playing XI

NZ: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matthew Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears

PAK: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan(w), Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi(c), Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf