New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra ruled out of T20I series vs Australia with injury on face

New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against Australia. He suffered a major laceration to his face during training on Tuesday. For the unversed, Ravindra collided with the boundary boards during fielding practice ahead of the first T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

He passed the initial concussion tests but required significant stitching on his face after the incident. All-rounder James Neesham has been called up as his replacement for the series. Notably, Neesham played only one match during the tri-series in Zimbabwe but will be hoping to play a more significant role in this series.

New Zealand head coach Rob Walter confirmed that Rachin Ravindra will need more time to recover from the major laceration and the decision was taken keeping in mind the upcoming series against England at home. "We're all really disappointed for Rachin to be forced to miss the series. He sustained a major laceration to his upper lip and nose area which required specialist and intricate stitching and will take time to heal.

"Rachin is obviously an important player for us, but his health and well-being are our top priority, and so the decision was made to send him home to recover with an eye to being available for the England series in two weeks' time," Walter said.

New Zealand troubled with injury to key players

Rachin Ravindra is the latest addition to a long list of injured New Zealand players at the moment. They are missing Mitchell Santner (abdominal injury), Will O'Rourke (back), Glenn Phillips (groin), Finn Allen (foot), Adam Milne (ankle), Lockie Ferguson (hamstring) and Kane Williamson (unavailable) in the series against Australia. 

Moreover, even Australia have lost Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell to injuries ahead of the T20I series. Injuries and unavailability of star players have certainly taken the sheen out of what was expected to be a cracker of a series.