Australia has the legacy. India has the recency. And New Zealand has the consistency.

That is one way to sum up performances at ICC limited-overs World Cups in the last decade. Since 2015, Sunday (March 8, 2026) will mark the fifth time New Zealand’s men feature in the final of a global tournament — a testament to their sustained excellence across formats.

Yet captain Mitchell Santner knows that the team often dubbed the “nicest guys” in world cricket will have to break a billion hearts if they are to lift the Men’s T20 World Cup trophy on Sunday (March 8) night.

For Santner, the choice is straightforward. “I wouldn’t mind winning a trophy,” Santner said at a crowded media conference at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday (March 7, 2026), on the eve of the final. “You look at this group and the groups that have been in the past and we are pretty consistent in our thoughts. We try not to get ruled by the situation or the opponents. We just go out there and do our thing as a unit.

“It’s been no different this time. Everyone knows we are probably not the favourites, but we don’t mind that. If we do the little things well and put in a strong team performance, it can put us in a good position to hopefully lift the trophy. But yeah, I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to do that.”

India, meanwhile, have been nearly invincible in ICC tournaments of late. In their last 33 matches across global events, the hosts have lost only twice — the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia and the Super Eight clash against South Africa last month. Both defeats came at this very venue.

Australia captain Pat Cummins’ famous “silence the crowd” remark had echoed through the stadium in the 2023 ODI World Cup title-decider here. Santner, too, believes handling the atmosphere will again be key. “I guess that’s the goal — to silence the crowd,” Santner said.

“There are a lot of variables in T20 cricket. It’s fickle at times. We’ve seen throughout this World Cup that teams are very evenly matched. It often comes down to a few small moments that change the outcome.”

Santner also pointed to the pressure on the hosts. “There is obviously a lot of pressure on India to win this World Cup at home. If we don’t win, it would be pretty cool to win a home World Cup. That comes with added pressure, so we can go out there and try to put that pressure on them and see what happens.”

For New Zealand, the final also carries recent context. The two sides met in a five-match T20I series in India just before the tournament — a contest India dominated 4-1. Santner believes the lessons from that series have helped the Black Caps during the World Cup.

“In terms of planning and execution, it was a great series. We were challenged a lot of times,” Santner said. “You build on what works and what doesn’t and take that information forward.

“We obviously played on five pretty good surfaces around India. I’m not sure what it’s going to play like here, but I assure you it’s going to be pretty good. Guys will take good conversations from that series into this game. But a World Cup final is a little bit different to a bilateral series.”

Cricket Scotland’s chief executive Trudy Lindblade on Saturday (January 24, 2026), expressed gratitude towards the International Cricket Council for inviting her country to next month’s T20 World Cup in place of Bangladesh, adding that they are “preparing to arrive in India immediately”.

Scotland were on Saturday (January 24) confirmed as replacement of Bangladesh who pulled out of the 20-team tournament citing security concerns despite the ICC insisting that there were no threats into their assessment.

“Earlier today I received correspondence from the ICC asking if our men’s team would play at the Men’s T20 World Cup, and we have accepted,” Lindblade said on Cricket Scotland’s website.

“We are grateful to the ICC for extending this invite. This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland’s players to compete on the global stage in front of millions of supporters. We also acknowledge this opportunity has arisen out of challenging and unique circumstances.

“Our squad have been training for some weeks in preparation for upcoming tours and are now preparing to arrive in India imminently to acclimatise to local conditions, ready to play and contribute to what should be a fantastic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” she added.

Scotland, however, will need some time to announce their 15-member squad for the tournament which begins on February 7.

“The ICC has confirmed Scotland will replace Bangladesh in Group C, after Bangladesh withdrew from the competition. Details around squad selection for the tournament will be shared in the coming days,” Cricket Scotland said.

Cricket Scotland chairman Wilf Walsh said he received a call from ICC chairman Jay Shah on confirming Scotland’s participation.

“I welcomed a call from ICC Chair Jay Shah earlier today confirming that Scotland will receive an invitation to play at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. I was pleased to accept on behalf of our team, who are willing and ready to go,” he said.

“We thank the ICC for this opportunity and look forward to competing with some of the best sides in the world in India in the coming weeks,” Mr. Walsh added.