WELLINGTON: A hamstring tear has forced out fast bowler Ben Sears from this month’s ICC Champions Trophy, New Zeal­and Cricket (NZC) said on Friday, while all-rounder Rachin Ravi­ndra has eased back into training after being struck in the face by the ball in a fielding mishap.

Jacob Duffy, who is already with the team as part of the squ­ad for the One-day International tri-series in Pakistan, will replace Sears in the Champions Trophy, the NZC said in a statement.

“Sears felt some pain in his left hamstring at the teams first training in Karachi on Wedne­sday and a subsequent scan revealed a minor tear that would require at least two weeks rehabilitation,” the statement added.

Ravindra, who lost sight of the ball in the floodlights when atte­m­pting a catch and was hit in the forehead during a match against Pakistan in Lahore last Saturday, still has concussion protocols to pass before returning to the field, coach Gary Stead said.

Though Ravindra passed his first Head Injury Assessment (HIA) immediately after the blow, Stead revealed the 25-year-old had suffered headaches in the following days and would need to tick off further HIA’s to be passed fit.

He therefore played no part in the ODI tri-series final against Pakistan in Karachi on Friday and appears unlikely to be selected for the Champions Trophy opener against the hosts next Wednesday in the same city.

“He’s had a headache for a few days but that’s, I guess, subsiding which is really good news,” Stead said in Karachi, declining to put a time-line on Ravindra’s return.

“He had a few balls tonight for the first time, which is good, but there’s still a few more steps for him to go through before he would be considered fit to play.”

There was better news for pacer Lockie Ferguson, who Ste­ad expected to return to action for Sunday’s Champions Trophy warm-up against Afghanistan in Karachi.

Ferguson suffered a hamstring strain while playing in the United Arab Emirates’ ILT20 competition.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2025