Highlights
- Teams can make changes to their squads until 9 October, 2022
- Post October 9, 2022 any replacements would need to be sanctioned by the ICC
- Mitchell remains doubtful for the T20 World Cup
T20 World Cup 2022: The T20 World Cup is almost here and teams have started to gear up for the all-important cricketing event. With a whirlwind of T20I bilaterals going on all over the globe, international teams are busy rotating players to manage their workload and keep them fit for the multi-nation cricketing event. Team New Zealand, led by Kane Williamson has been jolted by a major setback ahead of the World Cup. As of now, Kane Williamson and co. are busy playing a T20 tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Kiwi all-rounder Daryl Mitchell in an unfortunate incident fractured his right hand while training in the nets at Lincoln on Friday, 7 October 2022. Owing to the fracture Mitchell has been ruled out of the ongoing tri-series and his participation in the World Cup remains doubtful. The 31-year-old was later sent for an X-Ray and it was determined that Mitchell had fractured his fifth metacarpal (pinkie finger). With the World Cup just 8 days away, the injury has come at a very inappropriate time for New Zealand. For some time now, Mitchell has been a very key player for the team and provides balance to his side. Head coach Gary Stead has addressed the situation and has said that his team will take the required time to assess Mitchell's availability for the upcoming marquee event.
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Gary Stead further said:
It’s a real shame for Daryl to suffer this injury on the eve of an exciting period of cricket for the side. Daryl's become a really important player to our T20 unit and we’re certainly going to miss his all-around skills and versatility in the tri-series. With our first game of the World Cup in just over two weeks, we need to take some to consider Daryl’s recovery timeline and his potential involvement in the tournament.
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The Kiwis are yet to name a replacement for Mitchell and begin their campaign on October 8, 2022, against Pakistan at the Hagley Oval. The New Zealand cricket team will depart for Australia on October 15, 2022.
