A day before the start of their India tour, New Zealand have been dealt an injury blow with pacer Ben Sears ruled out of the entire Test series. The first Test starts from on Wednesday in Bengaluru and Sears will miss the tour due to a knee injury. Uncapped bowler Jacob Duffy has been called as a replacement.
Sears experienced pain in his left knee while training during the recent Test series in Sri Lanka and underwent scans in New Zealand last week.
“His departure to India was delayed after scans revealed a tear to his meniscus and the first available medical consultation was sought in the hope that he might have been cleared. However, following the medical advice, the decision was made to rule him out of the series,” New Zealand Cricket said in a statement.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said losing Sears was a disappointment and is hopeful his absence won’t be for a long period.
“We’re obviously disappointed for Ben who made a strong start to his Test career during the home summer and offers a genuine pace option. It remains to be seen how long we’ll be without him for, but we’re hopeful his road to a full recovery will be a short one,” Stead said.
Duffy is Otago’s all-time leading wicket-taker. He has played in six ODIs and 14 T20Is for New Zealand and currently has 299 First-Class wickets to his name.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for Jacob who has been around Test the squad before. With three Tests ahead of us he has every chance of making his Test debut,” Stead said.
“Jacob’s recent experience playing for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship certainly pushed his place. His performances in white-ball cricket for the BLACKCAPS have always been impressive and we’re confident he’ll be able to contribute if called upon,” he added.
The first Test of the three-match series starts from October 16 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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