The Chennai Super Kings have been handed a setback ahead of their title defence, as Devon Conway is expected to be out of action until at least May. Conway, who was named player of the match in last year’s final against the Gujarat Titans, will be out for at least eight weeks after it was announced that he would need surgery on his left thumb this week.
The 32-year-old injured his thumb during the previous T20I series against Australia and was unable to play the opening Test as well. Following a medical consultation, the decision was reached to operate. With a rehabilitation time of at least eight weeks, Conway will most certainly miss more than half of the tournament, which begins on March 22 and is expected to conclude by the end of May.
Henry Nicholls, who was called in to replace Conway in the first Test against Australia, will now remain in the squad for the second game. Meanwhile, Neil Wagner’s hopes of playing his final Test match were dashed when it was announced that he would not be selected in the squad as a replacement for the injured Will O’Rourke. The fast bowler suffered a left hamstring strain and will now require at least two weeks of recovery.
New Zealand has replaced him in the team with Ben Sears, who has 58 wickets in 19 first-class games. Sears has played T20Is for New Zealand, including the most recent series against Australia, although he has yet to appear in Tests. “Ben’s a young bowler with a quality skill set,” remarked head coach Gary Stead. “He bowls with true pace and has terrific bounce, which is always a plus in red ball cricket. We’ve been quite impressed with his efforts for the BLACKCAPS in white ball cricket this summer and believe he can make the step up to Test cricket if called upon.”
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