By Chennai Super Kings have suffered a setback ahead of their title defense as Devon Conway is set to be sidelined until at least May. Conway, the player of the match in last year’s final against Gujarat Titans, will undergo surgery this week on his left thumb, which he injured during the T20I series against Australia. This injury also ruled him out of the opening Test match. With a recovery period of at least eight weeks, Conway is expected to miss more than half of the upcoming tournament, which begins on March 22 and ends likely by the end of May.
Henry Nicholls, who was called in as cover for Conway for the first Test against Australia, will now remain with the squad for the second game. Meanwhile, Neil Wagner’s hopes of a farewell Test match were dashed as he was not included in the squad as a replacement for the injured Will O’Rourke. Wagner sustained a left hamstring strain and will require at least two weeks of rest.
New Zealand has replaced Wagner in the squad with Ben Sears, who has taken 58 wickets in his first-class career from 19 games. While Sears has played T20Is for New Zealand, including the most recent series against Australia, he is yet to feature in Tests. Head coach Gary Stead expressed confidence in Sears, stating, “Ben’s a young bowler with a quality skill set. He bowls with genuine pace and gets good bounce, which is always a great asset in red-ball cricket. We’ve been really impressed by his performances for the BLACKCAPS in white-ball cricket this summer and believe he can make the step up to the Test arena if called upon.”
