Hamilton, March 16 – New Zealand has suffered a setback with spinner Ish Sodhi ruled out of the remainder of the T20I series against South Africa due to a broken thumb.
Sodhi injured his thumb while bowling during training on Saturday, and subsequent scans revealed a break in the affected area, requiring a rehabilitation period of up to four weeks.
This means the right-arm bowler, who played three matches at the recent ICC Men's T20 World Cup, will miss the remaining matches of the home series against South Africa.
However, New Zealand has not named a replacement for Sodhi; instead, speedster Lockie Ferguson will join the team for the second and third matches of the series following a comfortable seven-wicket victory for South Africa in the opening fixture in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
This leaves Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie as the main spin options in New Zealand's squad, and head coach Rob Walter believes they have sufficient depth to cover Sodhi's absence.
"Ish is very passionate about playing for New Zealand, and we know he was looking forward to playing in front of home fans after the (T20) World Cup campaign," Walter said.
"He is a very experienced player in the T20 format, and his absence will be keenly felt for the remainder of the series.
"We are confident that with Lockie, Mitch (Santner), and Cole (McConchie) coming in, we have adequate cover for the next two matches before the squad transitions for the last two matches."
On Saturday, in the first T20I, a clinical bowling display followed by a measured chase helped South Africa secure a comfortable seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the opening T20I of the five-match series.
Chasing a modest target of 92, South Africa reached 92/3 in 16.4 overs, with Connor Esterhuizen anchoring the innings with a composed 35 not out off 44 balls. The right-hander fittingly sealed the win with a six off Kyle Jamieson, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead in the series.
New Zealand squad:
Mitchell Santner (c), Katene Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver (wk), Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Tom Latham (wk), Jayden Lennox, Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith