New Zealand Pacer Ben Sears ruled out of India Tour

The New Zealand Pacer, Ben Sears has been ruled out of the India test series due to a knee injury. Pacer Jacob Duffy, who is uncapped in Tests has been named as Sears' replacement and will fly to India on Wednesday morning.

Ben 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. According to a New Zealand Cricket Statement, "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."

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However, following the medical advice, the decision was made to rule him out of the series. A plan on the best course of treatment and rehabilitation for the injury will be advised in due course.

Jacob Duffy who is Otago's leading wicket-taker has featured in 6 ODIs and 14 T20Is for New Zealand. He currently has 299 first-class wickets to his name.

Head Coach Gary Stead on Ben Sears

“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 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."

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Gary Stead on Jacob Duffy said, "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. 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.”

Rain Threat Over Bangalore Test

New Zealand will begin their India Tour with the first test being played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru starting on 16 October. But the weather threatens the rain playing spoilsport during the first test. As the whole week's weather forecast isn't looking good. India's morning training session was washed out. New Zealand completed their training session in the indoor facility of Chinnaswamy premises. The second test will be played in Pune from 24 October and the Final test in Mumbai starting on 1 November on the eve of Diwali.