Mumbai: New Zealand off-spinner Mark Craig has been ruled out of the current Indian series due to side strain. Jeetan Patel, another off break bowler will replace Craig for the matches to be played at Kolkata and Indore. Craig suffered the injury during the match and faces a long time on the sidelines.
“Craig sustained the injury to his left side while bowling in the second innings of the first Test in Kanpur,” said a statement from New Zealand Cricket.
“He left the field to receive treatment and did not return but remains available to bat” in the first Test in Kanpur which finishes on Monday.
Craig, who claimed two wickets in Kanpur, will return home to undergo a rehabilitation programme and will require four weeks to recover, according to New Zealand coach Mike Hesson.
Black Caps coach, Mike Hesson was disappointed but expressed confidence in Craig’s replacement and said that Jeetan Patel would be an effective addition. Patel recently played for Warwickshire and was one of the leading bowlers in county cricket. He has worked hard on his game and improved his game leaps and bounds. Patel last played for Kiwis against the proteas in early 2013.
NZ had a decent match but they still ended up losing the match by a whopping 197 runs and were bamboozled by the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. NZ would be hoping that Patel, who has been around for long time could mentor talented spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner.
India will take on NZ at iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata for the second Test match and would like to take an unassailable lead going into third Test at Indore.