By: Tarish Bhatt
New Zealand have received a setback ahead of the Test series, as their bowling spearhead Tim Southee has been ruled out of the series. Southee won’t be taking part in the three-match Test series.
The Blackcaps pacer has sustained a grade two ligament injury in his ankle. He, however, is likely to return for the five-match one-day series, starting October 16 in Dharmasala.
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Southee will return to New Zealand for rehabilitation in a bid to regain full fitness for the limited-overs series.
Meanwhile, the Blackcaps have named Matt Henry as Southee’s replacement. Earlier, he was overlooked by the selectors for the tour, after he failed to feature in the Blackcaps team in South Africa.
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“Tim has been working hard in preparation for this tour,” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said. “He’s understandably very disappointed to be ruled out of all three Tests.”
“The focus now is for Tim to give his ankle 7-10 days rest, before slowly building his bowling loads back up ahead of the ODI series,” he added.
“We’ve got a replacement who is ready to go in Matt Henry. He will join the team before the start of the first Test.”
