The five-match T20 series between India and New Zealand has now entered its final stages, but ahead of the remaining fixtures, the hosts have suffered a major blow. There are only two matches left in the series, which are scheduled to be played on October thirty first and November first. However, the host team will have to take the field without their star fast bowler in both these crucial encounters. The tour of New Zealand has started in spectacular fashion for Team India, as the two-time T20 World champions have already clinched the T20 series by winning the first three matches consecutively.
With only two games remaining in this five-match series, the hosts New Zealand, having already lost the series, are receiving no respite. Hoping for a turnaround in the series, New Zealand has been dealt a severe blow as their premier fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has been ruled out of the final two matches. In his absence, Matthew Fisher has been selected as his replacement to bolster the squad for the remaining games.
New Zealand Cricket officially announced this development on Thursday, October twenty ninth. According to the board, Lockie Ferguson, who sustained an injury during the second T20 match, will take some time to recover fully. The board stated that while bowling in the second T20 match, Ferguson experienced pain in his right calf. When scanned, it revealed a low-grade tear, which isn't overly serious but requires him to have about an extra week of rest.
Lockie Ferguson was part of the squad for the first and second matches of the series, but he faced heavy treatment from batters in both games and managed to take only one wicket. He was released from the squad immediately after the second match, but there were high expectations of his return for the fourth T20 in Auckland on October thirtieth.
Now, that won't happen, and Ferguson will miss the opportunity to play on his home ground. All forty thousand tickets for this match have already been completely sold out. Ferguson will now directly return for the last two matches of the upcoming ODI series, as he was originally selected only for those two matches.
To replace Ferguson, New Zealand Cricket has chosen Matthew Fisher, who was initially part of the New Zealand A team but was added as a cover for the third T20 match. Due to Ferguson's injury, Fisher got the opportunity to play in the third match itself, but he ended up conceding twenty three runs in just his single over. However, he also managed to take the wicket of Vaibhav Suryavanshi during that spell. Overall, twenty-six-year-old Fisher has bowled a total of five overs across two T20 matches, conceding seventy-six runs while taking just a single wicket.