Will Daryl Mitchell be part of New Zealand squad for T20 World Cup?

KARACHI: Before the start of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, New Zealand officially announced on Monday that batsman Daryl Mitchell will be travelling to Australia this week along with the rest of the side.

While practising for the Kiwis' tri-series at home against Pakistan and Bangladesh, Mitchell fractured a finger on his right hand, putting his participation in the forthcoming competition in Australia in jeopardy.

The T20 World Cup's first encounter between New Zealand and Australia is in Sydney on October 22. However, it may be too soon for Mitchell to play, according to head coach Gary Stead, but they aim to have the 31-year-old back for the competition's second half.

"The good news is we have made a decision about Daryl Mitchell and he will tour with us to the World Cup," Stead said.

"When we thought about the value Daryl brings to the team and the likely time frame...we are still hopeful he'll be right for the first game but probably more realistically the second game," he added.

Mitchell's batting performance was a key factor in New Zealand's success at the T20 World Cup last year in Dubai, as the right-hander amassed an impressive 208 runs from seven innings with a strike rate of over 140.

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