Ben Sears ruled out of India tour; uncapped Jacob Duffy drafted into NZ's squad

Ben Sears , one of four frontline fast bowlers in New Zealand's Test squad for their tour of India, will not be taking part in the three-match series because of a knee injury. Jacob Duffy , uncapped in Tests, has been called up as Sears' replacement, and will leave for India on Wednesday morning, the first day of the first Test of the series.

"Sears experienced pain in his left knee while training during the recent Test series in Sri Lanka and underwent scans in New Zealand last week," a New Zealand Cricket statement on Tuesday morning said. "His departure to India was delayed after scans revealed a tear to his meniscus, and the first available medical consultation was sought in the hope that he might have been cleared.

"However, following the medical advice, the decision was made to rule him out of the series. A plan on the best course of treatment and rehabilitation for the injury will be advised in due course."

In Sears' absence, and without Duffy reaching India in time for the first Test, New Zealand will have to make up their fast-bowling attack from among Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke. Among frontline spin options, they have Ajaz Patel as their primary bowler, allrounders Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell, and the handy part-time spin of Glenn Phillips. New Zealand can also call upon the pace-bowling services of Daryl Mitchell if required.

"We're obviously disappointed for Ben, who made a strong start to his Test career during the home summer, and offers a genuine pace option," New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said of Sears, who made his Test debut - his only appearance in the format so far - against Australia in Christchurch in March this year, and picked up five wickets in the game.

"It remains to be seen how long we'll be without him for, but we're hopeful his road to a full recovery will be a short one. It's an exciting opportunity for Jacob, who has been around Test the squad before. With three Tests ahead of us, he has every chance of making his Test debut."

Duffy, 30, has played six ODIs and 14 T20Is so far, and has 299 first-class wickets to his name.

"Jacob's recent experience playing for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship certainly pushed his place," Stead said. "His performances in white-ball cricket for the Black Caps have always been impressive, and we're confident he'll be able to contribute if called upon."

New Zealand's tour of India begins with the first Test in Bengaluru, before the series moves on to Pune and Mumbai.