NZ's Mitchell Santner to miss first T20I against Pakistan, tests positive for COVID-19

Auckland: 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.

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.

New Zealand Squad: Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Kane Williamson(c), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Tim Seifert(w), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Ben Sears.

Pakistan Squad: Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi(c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Abbas Afridi, Haseebullah Khan.