Hamstring Injury Rules Ben Sears Out Of Champions Trophy

New Zealand seamer, Ben Sears has been ruled out of the upcoming Champions Trophy due to a left hamstring injury. Jacob Duffy who is in the squad for the ODI Tri-series has been named as his replacement for the mega event.

According to a New Zealand Cricket release, Sears felt pain in his left hamstring during the team's first training session in Karachi in the ongoing ODI Tri-series. The scans further revealed that there is a minor tear which requires at least two weeks of rehabilitation which would have meant that Sears would've been available only at the end of the group stages for the Kiwis. Hence, it ensured that the Kiwi think tank decided to replace him for the entire tournament.

Garry Stead On Ben Sears

"We're all sad for Ben, head coach Gary Stead Stated. This is a tough pill to swallow given that this happened when the tournament was just a week away. This is tough, especially knowing the fact this was his first major ICC event.

"The recovery period for Ben to go raring again is two weeks means he'll miss the majority of the group stages, given that this is a short tournament we've decided to rest him. Since it's a short rehabilitation period we're confident that he'll be back again playing for us in the home series against Pakistan back home". Stead Quipped

Stead on Jacob Duffy

"Jacob has shown that he's an international material, we saw that during the home series against Sri Lanka, he's an exciting package, he's been training & playing in these conditions in the ODI Tri-Series and hence very well accustomed to the conditions, he's fully fit & raring to go, like Ben he'll also be playing his first ICC event. it'll be an exciting few weeks for him"

New Zealand starts its campaign with the tournament opener against Pakistan in Karachi on February 19. They play Bangladesh next on February 24 in Rawalpindi followed by their final group match against India in Dubai.

New Zealand Updated Champions Trophy Squad

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young