Big blow to Australia as star wicketkeeper-batter ruled out of New Zealand T20Is due to injury, Alex Carey brought in as replacement

Australia have faced a major blow even before the commencement of their three-match T20I series against New Zealand as wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis has been ruled out due to a calf strain. The 30-year-old, who recently featured for the Baggy Greens in the white-ball series against South Africa will have to be spending some time on the sidelines due to the injury that he has sustained. In his place, Alex Carey will be the one travelling to New Zealand for the T20I series.

Inglis picked up the injury after a running session in Perth on Tuesday and underwent scans on Wednesday. Following this, he was ruled out of the T20I assignment against New Zealand which is set to commence from October 1. Due to this injury, Carey, who was likely to play for South Australia in the opening Sheffield Shield round, has now had a change in plans and has been included in the Baggy Greens' squad for the T20I series against the Black Caps.

Another setback for Australia

Ingis is one of four notable Australian players that won't be travelling with the team to New Zealand. Earlier, Pat Cummins had been ruled out of the series due to his lumbar bone stress injury while Nathan Ellis had made himself unavailable for the selection due to the impending birth of his first child. Also Cameron Green was also included so that he could feature in the Sheffield Shield and prepare for t he crucial Ashes series.

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Meanwhile, Inglis is expected to be back for the ODI series against India which will commence from October 19  so it is likely that he hasn't sustained a serious injury. Notably, this is the second calf injury that he has suffered in the last nine months. He sustained the previous one while fielding in the Boxing Day Test match against India. He will definitely be hoping to get back in action as soon as possible especially with the 2026 T20 World Cup not that far away.    

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Australia's squad for T20I series against New Zealand: Mitchell Marsh (C), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey (WK), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.