Ahead of the first ODI against India on October 22, New Zealand leggie Todd Astle has been ruled out of the entire series due to a groin injury. On the other hand, fellow spinner Ish Sodhi has replaced him and has made an entry in the ODI squad. After a long streak of hard work, Astle managed to get a spot in the ODIs. Unfortunately, he had to return New Zealand for recovery and rehabilitation.
The 31-year-old Astle had been in India with New Zealand’s ‘A’ team to play the practice game against the Indian Board President’s XI (IBPXI) and was also a part of New Zealand main squad for the 3-match ODI and T20I series. In the practice game against IBPXI on October 17, Astle suffered the injury at the Brabourne Stadium, walking off the field after bowling just three balls.
As stated by the New Zealand Cricket (NZC), a scan has confirmed that Astle had suffered a tear to his right side, which would rule him out for around three weeks.
An injury for Todd Astle means Ish Sodhi will come into the ODI squad in India.| https://t.co/s5eWDX8sQQ #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/w1TOIm8IyY
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 19, 2017
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson stated that Todd’s exclusion is unfortunate for the Kiwi squad. He said,”Todd was really impressive in the recent New Zealand ‘A’ tour over here and had done everything he possibly could to get himself ready for this series. He deserved this opportunity and everyone in the team is certainly feeling for Todd. He’ll return to New Zealand and get himself ready for a big summer.”
Todd Astle is yet to play an ODI match. Earlier in 2012, he was first named in the New Zealand side and has played just 2 Tests and 2 T20Is. His performances in domestic cricket, where he is also a handy lower-middle order batsman, however, have kept him on the selectors’ radar.
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