After leading New Zealand to their first bilateral ODI series win in India, Daryl Mitchell returned to the No. 1 spot in the ICC rankings, only the second New Zealander to make it to the top since Glenn Turner. In this conversation, in Colombo during the Super Eight of the 2026 T20 World Cup, Mitchell spoke about some of his recent big innings, the work he puts into his game, and the pre-game rituals he follows.
You recently overtook Virat Kohli to become the leading ODI batter in the ICC rankings. How big is that achievement?
It's cool. If you look at the last decade, as a team we have been in some pretty cool matches and at some pointy ends of tournaments, so yeah, it's nice to get that recognition of how I've gone about my business over the last few years. But it's not something I think about every day. It's obviously nice to have some success in the game and recognition for doing it over a long period of time. So very proud to represent our country and help us win.
During the recent ODI series in India, Kohli was seen shooing you out of the ground, in jest, in Indore after you scored a second successive century against India. Have you had a chance to talk to him about cricket?
He's someone that I have looked up to when I was playing domestic cricket - how he played the game. I love the presence he brings and the intensity that he does play with, and yeah, after that series I was lucky enough to get one of his signed shirts and chat to him about not only cricket but life in general. He's a great for a reason and I'm very lucky to have played against him.
Growing up, who were the white-ball players you were influenced by?
As a kid, Ricky Ponting was someone who I loved watching bat. Then there's obviously a number of players throughout my playing career that I have rubbed shoulders with: Kane [Williamson] is obviously a great in our team and someone I speak to all the time about how he goes about his business and [then] try and find ways to incorporate that into my own game.
That's the cool thing about this New Zealand group: We all are in it together, constantly having conversations about "how do you do this?". And we keep trying to add little facets to our game. That's one of the main reasons why we've had some success.
What is it that you have done in the last five years, since making your ODI debut, to be perched at the top today?
That's a golden-ticket question. If I could tell you the answer, I'd put it on a bit of paper and repeat it.
It took me a while to get to international cricket, and I look at that as almost a blessing in disguise. That I was able to learn my game over a period of time in domestic cricket, understand not only what kind of cricketer I want to be, but what kind of person I want to be as well.
Once I got to the international stage, it allowed me to just be myself. I'm a competitor. That's what drives me. I want to be part of moments and help us win moments. And if I can do that more often than not, then you are going to have some personal success along the way as well. It's just a matter of being present in that moment and getting stuck into it for our country.
The other day I saw you walk barefoot around the pitch at the Premadasa in Colombo ahead of your match against Sri Lanka. Is that one of your rituals prior to a game?
It's something that has crept into [my game] over time. I'm pretty clear on how I want to prepare for games and the different formats, how I want to go about two days out from training, the day before training and the day of the game. My routines allow me to get into a mindset to be competitive, to be present. One of those things is being grateful for where you are. It was not too long ago I thought I'd never be in this position to play international cricket. So [the ritual] is just taking it in and enjoying something that you have dreamed of since you were a little kid.
What else is on that checklist?
I wouldn't say it's so much a checklist, just that there's a number of things that help you be in a position so that when you walk out into the field, you have done all the preparation, you are clear and you are trusting your instincts to go out there and take the game on.
I am told you walk into team meetings with a notebook.
It just suits my personality. I'm quite detailed. I think that if I have done the prep leading up to the game, then what it does is, it allows me to walk out and trust my instincts. When you have analysed the opposition, you know how they are going to operate and then you are just working out: what does the game dictate for me at this present moment? So yeah, really clear preparation allows you to walk out and take the game on like that. You do everything you can in this game to give yourself success and you have good days, you have bad days. But one thing I know is that my prep point won't be the reason why that hasn't happened.
What are the innings you've played that you have enjoyed the most?
It's a bit of a blur now. Look, there's a number of innings that are really special. I look back at that 2023 ODI World Cup. As a team we just went about our business throughout that tournament and were obviously gutted to have not gone the whole way and lost that semi-final [against India], but it was really nice. I guess to have some massive partnerships with Rachin [Ravindra] was very good. The last ODI series here in India [early 2026] - to go about winning a series over here was very special, with it being a less experienced group at the time. It's definitely some memories that I look back with real fondness.
In the second ODI, in Rajkot, the way you attacked the spinners, it looked like you took forward what you did against India in the 2025 Champions Trophy final. In terms of mindset, how did you approach those two innings, considering one was in a bilateral series and the other in a global tournament?
Where I bat, in that No. 4 position, is understanding: what does the team need from me at this moment? It might be soaking up pressure for a period if they [the opposition] have taken a couple early wickets, or it might be trying to find ways to put pressure back on them. So they are all different games, they all require different aspects at that time. In the previous series [in January], if I looked at the balance [of the Indian team], I thought Kuldeep [Yadav] and [Ravindra] Jadeja were going to be the real threat with how they squeeze [the run flow] and build pressure. So it was trying to find ways to put pressure back on them, hopefully without getting out, and trying to extend partnerships as well.
Even in that Indore game, we'd lost a couple of early wickets. Me and Will Young recognised we probably needed to absorb some pressure for a little bit coming out of the powerplay. Then, through the middle, it was constantly trying to find ways to make sure they can't keep bowling their best ball over and over again. There's different ways to do that: use your feet [against] spin, sweep, use the crease, different angles. It's just constantly trying to find ways to put pressure back on them.
The Champions Trophy final was a totally different thing, where the [Dubai] surface was a lot slower. It was turning both ways and I thought the total [251] that we got as a team was a good total. If we probably had a little better powerplay with the ball… India only chased it with an over to go. So that was a really slow, challenging surface, and I felt my job at No. 4 was to recognise we needed to extend a partnership without taking too many risks. That's the job of a middle-order batsman in ODI cricket: you have to be able to do all the facets and recognise what's needed at that time.
You are one of the few batters who can step out to hit and also play all kinds of sweeps. From a batter who was not the best at playing spin to becoming one who now dominates it, how much work and effort have you had to put in to get comfortable in that facet of your game?
As a Kiwi boy, growing up I spent a bit of time in Australia as well through high school. To come back home to New Zealand, definitely quality spin was something I hadn't faced. And most of the wickets were either pretty grassy or bouncy. So definitely, early in my domestic career, I had some challenges with spin. I was lucky to have some world-class players in my domestic team at the time, like Kane and BJ Watling. I could observe how they went about their business and work out what's going to work for me from their game. A lot of tinkering, a lot of time in the nets trying to work out what's going to help me, whether it's sweeps, or to manipulate field settings to make it easier to rotate strike. I'm a big, strong guy. Using my size to hit the ball nice and straight has always been my strength.
The sweep does not come naturally to batters. How did you go about getting better at it to the point where you're also comfortable with the reverse-sweep and the paddle? I knew going into that ODI World Cup in India [in 2023] that the sweep was going to be an important part. So in the 18 months leading up to it, there's little things that you're constantly trying to prepare for.
In T20s, your strike rate against spin has steadily improved as well. Has that come from a conscious attempt to score quickly?
Again, it's what the game dictates at the time. We can see in T20 cricket now that there's not a lot of room for soaking up pressure. It's about finding ways to constantly put them [bowlers] back under pressure. So my middle-to-finishing role has changed from when I was opening or batting three-four. It's about finding ways to come out and not generate strike rate straight away, but to find ways to put pressure on them.
What also stands out is that you are an orthodox batter who usually sticks to hitting in the V. You have not tried to add unconventional ways of shot-making.
You are always trying to find ways to get better and tinker with things to help you. I'm really clear on my key things that make me the player I am, and making sure I stay true to that. From there, adding little aspects here and there to help improve my game and evolve.
During the 130 you scored against India in Dharamsala in the 2023 World Cup, did you slow down towards the end? Would you have played the second half of that innings differently today?
You are challenging my memory to try and remember three years ago!
Dharamsala - again, it just comes back to adapting to the game situation. At the time, me and Rachin were going really well early on and we found we could try and put them [India] under some pressure by recognising the balance of their bowling attack and what the threats are.
We lost a couple of wickets just leading into that 40-overs mark, and it probably meant that I had to again extend the partnership a little bit, knowing that there's the likes of [Jasprit] Bumrah to come towards the end. We know he is world-class, how he shuts down the back end. That means you have to manipulate your overs a little bit differently. So it's just adapting to game situations, recognising times to put pressure, times to accept that they are allowed to bowl well as well, and, yeah, the amount of wickets you lose. It's playing the game within the game.
In the 2023 World Cup semi-final against India, you made a brilliant 134 and were involved in a partnership for the third wicket that nearly turned the match, until Williamson got out. Do you revisit that match?
It's always hard while you're in the middle of your career to look too far forward or too far back, but when I finish, I'll be very proud of that game. Gutted to have not quite gone the whole way, but when you are chasing big totals like that, everything does have to go perfectly to chase it. We got close and hopefully we'll get another opportunity in the future.
In the 2021 T20 World Cup, you were asked to open the innings. That was a turning point in your career. Did having clarity about your role make it easier to adapt quickly?
I was very grateful to get that opportunity to open. It was my way into the playing XI. Since then, I have had a number of positions. But when you are given the role, wherever it might be, when you are able to be really clear on that, what that role dictates for a period of time, it does make it easier. It's the same with this World Cup now - being in that No 5 or 6, the finishing role, and understanding that my job is to control the back-end of the innings has given me real clarity with how I need to operate in this tournament. That's just the really important aspect.
You played an ODI series here in India a month before the T20 World Cup. How do you mentally switch your mindset when the formats change and the pressure varies?
I'm really proud to play all three formats for our country and it's something that I have dreamed of since I was five years old. No game is bigger than another other in terms of whether it's playing India in a bilateral series in January or a World Cup now. Every game for me is the same. You are wearing that silver fern on your chest and it means a hell of a lot. So I just try and be in that moment as much as I can, be as present as I can and try and make good decisions for our team. Doing that hopefully takes away a little bit of the pressure of whether it's a World Cup or a big game of some sorts. It's not making it bigger than what it is - it's just getting stuck into that moment and trying to help us out.
What do you want to improve on in your white-ball cricket?
It's constantly trying to evolve as the game evolves and working out what the game is asking from me in that moment. That's how I always look at it. Teams will bowl certain ways to you and you have to find ways to negate that. Then you'll hopefully get ahead of them and then you've got to find other ways once they do so [get ahead of you].