Hay, Ashok, Abbas earn maiden NZC contracts

The New Zealand men's quartet of Mitch Hay, Muhammad Abbas, Zak Foulkes and Adi Ashok have been handed their maiden central contract, announced by New Zealand Cricket on Tuesday (June 3).

The 20-player list announced for the 2025-26 season does not include Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ajaz Patel, and Josh Clarkson, all of whom were contracted last season. Meanwhile, discussions on casual playing contracts for players such as Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, and Lockie Ferguson, are ongoing.

While Ashok returned to the side for the first time since making his debut in 2023, Hay and Abbas made an impressive starts to their international career with stellar performances. Hay set a wicketkeeping world record with six dismissals in a T20I during his debut tour in Sri Lanka in November, Abbas smashed a record-breaking 52 off 26 balls on his ODI debut against Pakistan the fastest fifty by a debutant in men's format.

The selection process was managed by Bryan Stronach (Chief High Performance Officer) and overseen by NZC. It involved New Zealand men's head coach Gary Stead, selector Sam Wells, assistant coaches Jacob Oram and Luke Ronchi, and Performance Manager Mike Sandle.

In a release, NZC stated, "A statistical review of domestic and international performances across Test, ODI, and T20I formats informed the rankings, with the final 20 players selected based on past performances, the 2025-26 schedule, and their likelihood of representing New Zealand."

NZC Chief Executive Scott Weenink hailed the new additions as a sign of New Zealand cricket's bright future. The contracts with Mitch, Muhammad, Adi and Zak reflect the incredible talent coming through our system. These players have shown they can compete at the highest level, and their hunger to represent the BlackCaps is exciting.

"We're thrilled to see this group drive our team forward. The list captures the depth and versatility of our talent pool. With a packed season ahead, including the ICC T20 World Cup in February, these players are ready to make their mark and inspire fans across New Zealand."

: Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, William O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Will Young