India will not have to worry about one of New Zealand's best bowlers in the upcoming Test series, after Tim Southee was ruled out through injury.
The Kiwi fast bowler picked up an ankle injury in training, and that problem was sufficiently serious enough to rule him out of all three of the Test matches.
That news will come as a blow for New Zealand, as Southee is one of their marquee bowlers. While the swing man might not be as effective in Indian conditions, the fact that he has played in the IPL and comes with plenty of experience would have been considered as vital for the Black Caps' chances in this series.
However, after feeling pain during a training session, Southee and New Zealand were given the unfortunate news.
Southee, though, will return for the ODI leg of the tour, with Matt Henry replacing the fast bowler for the Test matches.
"Tim has been working hard in preparation for this tour, so he's understandably very disappointed to be ruled out of all three Tests," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said.
"The focus now is for Tim to give his ankle 7-10 days rest, before slowly building his bowling loads back up ahead of the ODI series.
"We've got a replacement, who is ready to go in Matt Henry and he'll join the team before the start of the first Test."
Southee's news came after New Zealand had a good day out on the field with the bat in the practice match against Mumbai at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Pretty much all of their batsmen got a decent hit out in the middle, and while that performance would have given them confidence, New Zealand will also know it was against a weakened bowling attack and on a greenish wicket they will definitely not face in the Tests against India.
