New Zealand sweating over Daryl Mitchell's fitness ahead of T20 World Cup

A fractured finger suffered batting in the nets has ruled the allrounder out of the tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Kiwis are due to depart for Australia on October 15

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Daryl Mitchell is a doubt for New Zealand's T20 World Cup campaign after suffering a fractured finger.

The 31-year-old has been ruled out of the upcoming tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh - a replacement will be announced in due course - after being struck while batting in the nets.

Mitchell's hand has been placed in a cast for at least two weeks. The Black Caps depart for Australia on October 15 ahead of their opening game against the hosts on October 22.

"It's a real shame for Daryl to suffer this injury on the eve of an exciting period of cricket for the side," said coach Gary Stead.

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Mitchell was part of the New Zealand side that reached the 2021 T20 World Cup final (AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)

"Daryl's become a really important player to our T20 unit and we’re certainly going to miss his all-round skills and versatility in the Tri-Series.

"With our first game of the World Cup in just over two weeks, we need to take some to consider Daryl's recovery timeline and his potential involvement in the tournament."

The Hamilton native played a central role in helping New Zealand reach last year's final, hitting an unbeaten 72 in the semi-final victory over England.

He has played 35 T20Is for the Kiwis, scoring 657 runs at 25.26 with a strike rate of 141.59 while taking seven wickets with an economy rate of 10.26.


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