Blair Tickner called-up as cover for Mitchell Santner ahead of the Tri-Series opener

Blair Tickner (PC- Twitter)

New Zealand have called up seamer Blair Tickner as a cover for Mitchell Santner ahead of the forthcoming Tri-Series in Christchurch.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Thursday (October 6) confirmed that Tickner has joined the T20I squad as cover to Santner, who is on parental leave.

"Central Stags paceman Blair Tickner has joined the BLACKCAPS squad today ahead of the T20 Tri-Series in Christchurch," stated a New Zealand Cricket media release.

Santner on parental leave

According to NZC, Santner will not arrive at the camp until the weekend following the birth of his first child last week. Reportedly Santner asked for an extended break and NZC granted him paternity leave to spend time with his wife and newborn kid.

Tickner, who made his T20I debut against India in February 2019, has taken 12 wickets in 11 appearances with a best of 4/27. The right-arm seamer was one of the standout performers in New Zealand's tour to the Netherlands but faced a snub when the team travelled to the West Indies.

New Zealand will meet Pakistan and Bangladesh in a tri-series in Christchurch starting on Friday with Pakistan taking on Bangladesh to open the T20I Tri-Series at Hagley Oval – as part of their warm-up for the World Cup starting in Australia later this month.

The BlackCaps will begin their campaign against Pakistan on Saturday, which means Santner may miss out on playing the first game of the series as he will be joining the squad on weekend due to parental leave.

In their most recent T20 series, versus the West Indies in the Caribbean in August, the Kiwis emerged victorious claiming the three-match series 2-1. The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand would like to continue the winning momentum in the tri-series to take some confidence into the T20 World Cup starting later this month.

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