New Zealand have been dealt with yet another blow ahead of the World Cup as their star all-rounder Michael Bracewell has been ruled out of the mega event. He sustained a ruptured achilles injury while playing in the T20 Blast and is set to be sidelined for 6 to 8 months. The Kiwis are already set to miss their talismanic skipper Kane Williamson who got injured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) while playing for Gujarat Titans.
Coming back to Bracewell, the all-rounder will undergo surgery in UK on Thursday (June 15) and then will begin a lengthy rehabilitation which will definitely keep him out of World Cup this year. This is a huge blow for New Zealand as their ODI Player of the Year is set to miss the World Cup. "Firstly, you always feel for the player when injury strikes and especially when it means they will have to miss a world event," New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.
Bracewell made his ODI debut last year in March and has played in 19 ODIs so far scoring 510 runs at a strike-rate of 118.6 with two centuries to his name. The man has already played several impact knocks for his side batting down the order and has also picked up 15 wickets. One of his memorable innings came against India on their last tour to the country when he scored 140 off just 78 deliveries while chasing 350 runs in Hyderabad earlier this year.
"Michael's a great team man and has had a fantastic 15 months for New Zealand since his international debut. We've seen his exceptional skills in all three facets of the game and he was shaping as an important player for us at the world cup in India. Michael's naturally pretty disappointed, but also pragmatic in acknowledging that injuries are a part of sport and he's now turning his focus to his rehabilitation," Stead further added.
