Santner has previously captained the side in 24 T20Is and four ODIs and his first series in the full-time role will be against Sri Lanka in late December.
The first major event under his tenure will be the Champions Trophy in February, after which the focus will shift to the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“It’s obviously a huge honor and privilege to be asked,” Sentner said. “When you’re a little kid it’s always your dream to play for New Zealand, but to have the opportunity to officially lead your country across two formats is special.
“This is a new challenge and I am excited to join the important phase of white-ball cricket that lies ahead of us.”
Head coach Gary Stead explained that he was conscious of not increasing Tom Latham’s workload as Test captain. Santner is also the first choice in both white ball formats.
“In Tom Latham, we have a skilled and experienced captain who has led the team admirably in all three formats,” Stead said. “Tom has been doing a great job as full-time Test captain since taking over in October and we are keen to allow him to focus on a job that requires a lot of his time and energy.”
“Mitch is a fantastic team man and leads by example in all aspects of the game. He has an incredibly calm and collected personality and has a lot of respect in the changing room, which will be good for him.
“He has a lot of experience leading a T20 team and he did a good job captaining the ODI team last month, so he already has a good understanding of what it means to lead a team. I’m sure Mitch “Will also bring his own leadership ideas and style to the role.”
Santner has recently enjoyed a resurgence in his Test career with player of the match performances against India in Pune and England in Hamilton, but New Zealand now have a lighter schedule in the format through 2025.
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