In what will be a major blow for New Zealand, wicket-keeper-batter Devon Conway will miss the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 final in Dubai and the upcoming tour of India due to a hand injury.
Devon Conway broke his right hand after he punched the bat following his dismissal against England in the semi-final 1 of the T20 World Cup 2021 at Abu Dhabi.
The southpaw was subsequently taken for scans, which confirmed that he broke the fifth metacarpal of his right hand, ruling him out of the summit clash against Australia on Sunday (14th November) and the subsequent tour against India.
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New Zealand coach Gary Stead said that Devon Conway is gutted with himself as he’s very passionate about playing for the ‘Blackcaps’. He revealed that when he struck his bat, it hit him between the glove padding. He called his injury a stroke of bad luck.
“He's absolutely gutted to be ruled out like this at this time. Devon is hugely passionate about playing for the BLACKCAPS and no one is more disappointed at the moment than he is - so we're really trying to rally around him.
“It looked a pretty innocuous reactionary incident on the field, but the blow obviously caught the bat between the glove padding, and while it's not the smartest thing he's done there's certainly an element of bad luck in the injury," Gary Stead said.
Stead further lauded Devon Conway as a great team man and said that the wicket-keeper batter will support the team till the World Cup ends and will return home to recover.
He revealed that they won’t name any replacement for the final of the T20 World Cup 2021 and T20I series against India but they are trying to bring a replacement for the Test series.
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“Devon is a great team-man and a very popular member of the side so we're all feeling for him. He's determined to support the team in any way he can for the remainder of the tour before he returns home to recover. Due to the timelines we won't be bringing in a replacement player for this World Cup or next week's T20 series against India, but are working through our options for the Test series later this month," he said.
New Zealand will take on Australia in the final of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Nov 14.
(ANI inputs)
