Daryl Mitchell, New Zealand’s star in last year’s T20 World Cup who hasn’t yet played in this campaign, will return for Saturday’s clash with Sri Lanka, pacer Tim Southee said on Friday.
All-rounder Mitchell scored 208 runs last year but missed New Zealand’s impressive 89-run victory over defending champions Australia last weekend after fracturing a finger before the tournament.
The 31-year-old might have returned against Afghanistan on Wednesday but the match was washed out. Southee said he would instead find a place on Saturday, most likely for Mark Chapman.
“Daryl’s come through all the tests he needs to come through after suffering a broken hand a few weeks back,” he told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “It’s bad luck for Mark Chapman but Daryl is such a valuable member of the side and he’s done well for us. So, yeah, now he’s fit and ready, he just slots back in.”
With only one point from the washout, New Zealand will need to be sure to avoid an upset against Sri Lanka before taking on England and Ireland in their final Group 1 matches.
“We know we have to be on our toes every single game we play, it’s the nature of this tournament that you can’t really have too many slip-ups,” Southee added.
Sri Lanka, placed fifth in the group, lost by seven wickets to the World Cup hosts Australia in their last outing and have suffered a series of injuries but assistant coach Naveed Nawaz said they still felt they were in with a chance of reaching the semi-finals.