Mitchell Santner suffers grade three ACL shoulder injury: Details here
What's the story
New Zealand's white-ball captain, Mitchell Santner, will be out of action for at least a month due to a serious shoulder injury. Santner suffered the injury while playing for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2026 game against Chennai Super Kings on April 23. While attempting a catch, his head hit the ground, prompting MI to bring in Shardul Thakur as his concussion replacement.
Injury specifics
Santner to miss these NZ matches
The severity of Santner's injury has been confirmed by New Zealand Cricket (NZC), which has classified it as a grade three ACL shoulder injury. This means the Kiwi white-ball captain will miss the one-off Test against Ireland and the first Test against England. Santner consulted with a specialist after returning to New Zealand this week, and fresh scans revealed the extent of damage to his shoulder.
Team changes
MI replaced Santner with Keshav Maharaj
After Santner's injury, MI replaced him with Keshav Maharaj, another left-arm spinner. Maharaj had played only two IPL matches before this season and was signed by MI for ₹75 lakh. Despite his absence, Santner remains a key player in New Zealand's white-ball cricket setup.