Big Blow For New Zealand Ahead Of India Test! 34-Year-Old Veteran To Miss Part Of Series With Groin Issue

In what has come as a huge blow to New Zealand's aspirations of winning a Test series in India and staying alive in the race to the World Test Championship final, ace batter Kane Williamson is all set to miss the start of the tie as he nurses a groin injury. New Zealand Cricket published a statement in the wee hours of Wednesday to announce the same. Williamson picked up the injury during New Zealand's surprising innings and 154-run defeat to Sri Lanka in September and has been advised to stay home for rehab ahead of the first Test against India in Bengaluru from October 16. The New Zealand team will arrive in India on Friday but Williamson won't travel with them. With this injury cropping up, his participation in the entire series suddenly looks in jeopardy and it needs to be seen if he can take part in the latter half of the series.

Squad News | Kane Williamson will delay his departure for the Test series against India due to a groin strain, with uncapped Auckland Aces batter Mark Chapman joining the squad as cover 🏏 #INDvNZ #CricketNationhttps://t.co/3wJgTKkRIl

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 8, 2024

"The advice we've received is that the best course of action is for Kane to rest and rehabilitate now rather than risk aggravating the injury," New Zealand selector Sam Wells has said."We're hopeful that if the rehabilitation goes to plan Kane will be available for the latter part of the tour. While it's disappointing to not have Kane available from the start of the tour, it provides an opportunity for someone else to play a role in an important series," Wells added. With Williamson missing out, New Zealand have added Mark Chapman to their team for the series and he is all set to make his Test debut after quite a few good performances in limited-overs cricket for the country. “We believe Mark is one of our best players of spin and has a proven track record in the sub-continent. Mark has displayed an ability to play spin proactively in the international arena and combined with his excellent first-class record, we see him as someone who can succeed in the type of conditions we expect to encounter in India," Wells said. Kane Williamson's Record In IndiaWilliamson has scored 503 runs in eight Tests in India, with just one hundred and three half-centuries to his name. In total, he has scored two hundreds and five half-centuries against India.