Players to watch in NZ's domestic white-ball season: Abbas, Heaphy, Chu and more

A supremely talented right-hand batter and left-arm seamer, Muhammad Abbas enters the new domestic season after playing three ODIs for New Zealand earlier this year. He made an immediate impact on his international debut, against Pakistan, his country of birth, clattering a 24-ball fifty - the quickest on debut in ODI history - in Napier in March.

During the winter, he travelled with the New Zealand A side to Bangladesh and South Africa, gaining exposure away from home. In the third unofficial ODI against South Africa A in Benoni, he picked up 1 for 38 in five overs and hit 66 off 70 balls. At 21, Abbas has the shots and gears to succeed in white-ball cricket and though batting is his stronger suit, he can also do a job with his left-arm seam. A big domestic season could potentially propel him into the BlackCaps' first-choice white-ball side.

Auckland wristspinner Adithya Ashok has been identified as Ish Sodhi's successor and he won his maiden New Zealand contract just before Gary Stead exited as head coach. Rob Walter, the new coach, has leaned on the experience of Sodhi in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year. This Ford Trophy and then the 20-overs Super Smash is Adithya's chance to press his case for a place in New Zealand's white-ball sides.

Adithya built up a strong body of work during the winter, emerging as New Zealand A's chief wicket-taker in both four-dayers and List A cricket in Bangladesh and South Africa. Between the two A tours, Adithya visited the Super Kings Academy in Chennai to hone his skills during a spin-centric camp.

A wicketkeeper-batter, Curtis Heaphy averages over 40 in first-class cricket and over 50 in List A cricket. The 22-year-old was the top run-getter in the 2024-25 Ford Trophy, with 502 runs in 11 innings at an average of 71.71 and a strike rate of 77.95. He then helped Central Districts win the 2024-25 Super Smash and broke into the New Zealand A side. Heaphy also contributed handsomely to CD's first T20 win outside of New Zealand, scoring an unbeaten 50 off 38 balls against Big Bash League (BBL) champions Hobart Hurricanes in the Global Super League in spin-friendly Guyana. He went bigger in South Africa, making a career-best 190 in the second unofficial Test in Benoni. Heaphy could compete with Canterbury's Mitch Hay for the emerging wicketkeeper's slot.

Another exciting wicketkeeper-batter, Max Chu, who represents Otago, has seen his white-ball stocks rise after hitting 230 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 155.40 in last season's Super Smash. Chu, 25, can play funky shots behind the wicket, which perhaps put him in the ILT20 shortlist (though he didn't get a gig there) and landed him a deal at the Canada Super60 earlier this month.

Chu was New Zealand's keeper in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup at home and was part of a batch that included Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra and Matt Fisher. This season presents him an opportunity to level up and join his mates in New Zealand's senior team.

The younger brother of Jack, who will turn out for Otago in the upcoming season, and the son of Justin, who played for Canterbury and Wellington, Matt Boyle is also part of New Zealand's young talent pool. A top-order batter, who can also pitch in with legspin, Boyle topped the Super Smash run charts last season and scored his maiden List A century during the 2024-25 Ford Trophy. He didn't score a whole lot of runs on the winter A tours, but is rated highly by many in New Zealand cricket circles, including his Canterbury coach Peter Fulton.

After Zak Foulkes and Nathan Smith, Auckland's Simon Keene, who turned 24 earlier this week, promises to be the next seam-bowling allrounder from New Zealand's pathway system. Keene bagged a five-wicket haul on his Plunket Shield debut in 2022 and then showcased his ability to swing the white ball in last season's Ford Trophy, when he razed Canterbury's line-up with 5 for 29 in Mount Manganui. In addition to his hooping outswinger, Keene can also give it a good whack with the bat like he showed during his 35-ball 81 while opening the batting with Martin Guptill in the Super Smash, and more recently during his 77 off 58 balls from No.8 in a one-dayer for New Zealand A in Benoni.