New Zealand have been dealt a big blow as their star pacer has been ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 which will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Adam Milne who was in great form in the SA20 bowling at very high speeds has been ruled out of the World T20 due to injury and pacer Kyle Jamieson will replace him. This news was shared officially by the New Zealand cricket board. According to New Zealand cricket, Adam Milne has sustained a torn left hamstring injury and will not feature in the tournament. He suffered the injury in the first over of the SA20 match between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and MI Cape Town, and the scans have revealed the extent of the damage, according to New Zealand Cricket.
“Jamieson, who is currently part of the Blackcaps white-ball tour of India, has been added to the T20 World Cup squad after originally being named as the traveling reserve for the February-March tournament in India and Sri Lanka,” NZC said
Mitchell Santner will lead the team and despite the injury they have a good balanced in both pace and spin department while the batters have had great exposure in T20 Leagues around the world. New Zealand were disappointing in the 2024 World T20 where they could not make it to the next round and they will be keen to have a better tournament this time around in 2026.
Also Read | Bangladesh boycott T20 World Cup 2026
New Zealand will play a warm-up match against the United States before the World Cup begin in which they are placed in Group D along with Afghanistan, UAE, South Africa and Canada.
New Zealand’s squad:
Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi
