Williamson, Sharma sidelined ahead NZ vs India ODIs

By Associated Press 04 February 2020, 12:00AM

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — India and New Zealand have suffered injury setbacks ahead of their three-match one-day international series which starts at Hamilton on Wednesday.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss the first two matches with a shoulder injury which also prevented him from playing the last two matches of their Twenty20 series.

"Kane has had an X-ray scan which cleared him of anything serious but it's best for his recovery that he avoids aggravating the joint for the next few days," Black Caps physiotherapist Vijay Vallabh said.

"He will start batting again on Friday with the prospect of being available for game three next Tuesday."

New Zealand is already without fast bowlers Trent Boult, who has a broken finger, Lockie Ferguson, with a calf strain, and Matt Henry, with a broken thumb.

India will be without star batsman Rohit Sharma for the remainder of its New Zealand tour. Sharma suffered a calf injury in the fifth T20 and will miss the one-day series and two-match test series.

The injury to Sharma may result in the call-up of highly rated youngster Prithvi Shaw, who has yet to play a one-day international. Shaw is with the India A team which is playing New Zealand A in a four-day series.

Meanwhile, some New Zealand fans have been angered by the decision of head coach Gary Stead to take a break during the one-day series. Australia-born bowling coach Shane Jurgensen will take over as head coach in Stead's absence.

Jurgensen said Stead's holiday was “pre-planned” but some fans were angered that he has taken a break after New Zealand's 3-0 test series defeat in Australia and 5-0 loss in the T20 series.

“I've been planning to look after this series for a while," Jurgensen said. "Gary's taking a well-earned break for the week.

"It's been happening throughout the summer. I've had breaks, other coaches have had breaks, to freshen up and get ready for the other challenges ahead, after this series.”

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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 04 February 2020, 12:00AM

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