New Zealand have been dealt an injury blow a day before the start of the India Test tour as pacer Ben Sears has been ruled out of the entire series.

The three-match series is slated to get underway on Wednesday (October 16) in Bengaluru, and Sears will remain sidelined due to a knee injury.

Sears experienced pain in his left knee while training during the Test series in Sri Lanka last month. He underwent scans in New Zealand last week.

“His departure to India was delayed after scans revealed a tear to his meniscus and the first available medical consultation was sought in the hope that he might have been cleared. However, following the medical advice, the decision was made to rule him out of the series,” New Zealand Cricket said in a statement.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead acknowledged that losing Ben Sears to injury was a disappointment.

“We’re obviously disappointed for Ben who made a strong start to his Test career during the home summer and offers a genuine pace option. It remains to be seen how long we’ll be without him for, but we’re hopeful his road to a full recovery will be a short one,” Stead said.

Uncapped fast bowler Jacob Duffy has been called as a replacement. Jacob has represented New Zealand in six ODIs and 14 T20Is so far and has 299 First-Class wickets to his name.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for Jacob who has been around Test the squad before. With three Tests ahead of us he has every chance of making his Test debut,” Stead said.

“Jacob’s recent experience playing for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship certainly pushed his place. His performances in white-ball cricket for the BLACKCAPS have always been impressive and we’re confident he’ll be able to contribute if called upon,” he added.

After the first Test in Bengaluru, the Indian and Kiwi teams will travel to Pune (October 24-28) and Mumbai (November 1-5) for the second and third Test matches, respectively.