26-year-old New Zealand pacer Ben Sears has been ruled out for the 3-match Test series against India which is set to commence from October 16. The bowler sustained a knee injury while training during the Black Caps’ tour of Sri Lanka.
Sears experienced pain in his left knee while training and thus, underwent scans. According to a New Zealand Cricket release, “scans revealed a tear to his meniscus” and Sears’ departure to India was delayed. Eventually, upon medical advice, Sears was ruled out of the India tour and is set to go through the treatment and rehabilitation process.
The uncapped Jacob Duffy has been named as the replacement for Sears and will fly to India on Wednesday, October 16. Duffy, who has played 6 ODIs and 14 T20Is for New Zealand so far, has bagged 299 first-class wickets and is Otago’s leading wicket-taker.
“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,” said New Zealand head coach Gary Stead.
“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. It’s an exciting opportunity for Jacob who has been around the squad before. With three Tests ahead of us he has every chance of making his Test debut,” Stead added.
“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,” Stead further added.
