Kamal Ghorui
New Zealand have been forced into a late change to their ICC T20 World Cup squad after pace bowler Adam Milne was ruled out of the marquee tournament with a torn left hamstring. The Black Caps have drafted in Kyle Jamieson as his replacement, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed on Friday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Milne sustained the injury during the opening over of an SA20 clash between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and MI Cape Town last Sunday. Subsequent scans revealed the severity of the tear, bringing a premature end to his World Cup campaign just weeks before the tournament gets underway in India and Sri Lanka.
“Jamieson, who is currently part of the Blackcaps white-ball tour of India, has been added to the T20 World Cup squad after originally being named as the travelling reserve,” NZC said in a statement.New Zealand head coach Rob Walter expressed his disappointment for Milne, who had worked his way back into contention after a difficult period with injuries. “We’re all gutted for Adam,” Walter said. “He’d worked so hard to get himself ready for the tournament and was looking back to his best in his eight games for the Eastern Cape Sunrisers. It’s unfortunate timing for Adam and we wish him a speedy recovery.”Walter, however, was confident Jamieson would slot in seamlessly. The tall pacer has been leading an inexperienced New Zealand pace attack on the ongoing white-ball tour of India and is already embedded with the squad.
Adam Milne (ANI Photo)
“It’s great that Kyle is already with us here in India,” Walter said. “He’s an integral member of our pace-bowling group and has hit the ground running on this tour. He’s a hard worker with a good set of skills and experiences that will hold him in good stead for the tournament.”Jamieson’s inclusion adds bounce and versatility to New Zealand’s bowling attack, offering an additional seam option alongside Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy.NZC confirmed that a replacement for Jamieson in the pool of travelling reserves will be announced in due course.
New Zealand T20 World Cup squad:
- Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi
