Ahmedabad, March 7 Mitchell Santner doesn't exude the same intensity as some of the modern-day captains. He is also not the quintessential "funny man" whose witty one-liners would bring the audience to laughter.
However, in his own unique way, the New Zealand captain was ready to answer every question, including the Iran-US conflict that has effectively shut down the airspace over the Middle East, and the obvious one, like Pat Cummins in 2023, he wouldn't mind hearing the sound of shattered hopes.
How relevant is winning a T20 World Cup final when human lives are at stake due to the West Asia crisis?
"It's a difficult situation to ignore because it is, you know, everywhere, and it's obviously a pretty tough situation. Obviously, the people at the World Cup have also been affected," Santner said, not avoiding the sensitive question as some of his contemporary international captains would.
The West Indies and England teams are still stranded in Kolkata and Mumbai respectively due to the closure of the Dubai airspace, and Santner can feel the anxiety of some of his fellow cricketers from opposing countries.
He acknowledged that it is difficult to just focus on a sporting finale when people are unable to return home, but that is their present job.
"It's about thinking about what the game will look like tomorrow. And, yeah, it's obviously a challenge to put that out of your mind."
"But for us, it's thinking about what tomorrow will look like against a very strong Indian team."
New Zealand has played five ICC finals in the last 11 years, and perhaps it is time they delete the word "second" that has always stayed ahead of "best" whenever they have been in a summit clash.
"We just go out there and do our thing as a unit. It has been the same this time. And again, it will obviously be a challenge where everyone knows we're probably not the favourites. But we don't mind. But yeah, I wouldn't mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once," he said matter-of-factly, with a smile refusing to leave his face.
He didn't try to be politically correct by saying that it is just another game.
"It's easy to say it's just another game, but everyone knows it's probably not. The way you go about it has to be the same, whether it's your preparation, what that looks like on the day, leading up to the game."
T20 cricket is all about moments, and he wants his players to seize them.
"It always comes down to a couple of moments, especially in T20 cricket, where if you can squeeze the opposition or take the advantage through there. I think we saw that the other night."
The word "ruthless" might not be associated with New Zealand, but on Sunday, Santner wouldn't mind being tough on the opposition.
"If you can be very consistent in the way you approach the game, with bearing a couple of moments where you could potentially be a little bit more ruthless," he said.
"But I don't think you have to reinvent the wheel," he added.
