Body blow to New Zealand as star pacer ruled out of T20 WC due to injury, 31-year-old named as replacement

New Zealand pacer Adam Milne has been ruled out of the 2026 T20 World Cup after sustaining an injury in the SA20. He suffered a hamstring injury while playing for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) during their clash against MI Cape Town. He has been replaced in the squad by Kyle Jamieson, who is featuring for New Zealand in their ongoing five-match T20I series against India.

Milne's form in SA20

Milne had been in good form in the SA20 and had clinched 11 wickets in 9 matches for SEC. He had maintained a decent economy-rate of 7.61 and an average of 16.27. This is a massive blow for New Zealand as Milne has a lot of experience on his side and could have led the Black Caps' pace attack in the T20 World Cup.

New Zealand head coach Rob Walter shared his verdict on the injury and highlighted how hard Milne had worked to get himself ready for the upcoming tournament. He further wished a speedy recovery for the 33-year-old.

"We're all gutted for Adam. He'd worked so hard to get himself ready for the tournament and was looking back to his best in his eight games for the Eastern Cape Sunrisers. It's unfortunate timing for Adam and we wish him a speedy recovery," Walter said.

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Jamieson, who had earlier been selected as a travelling reserve for New Zealand in the T20 World Cup, has now been added to the main squad. Walter remarked that the 31-year-old is an important member of the team's bowling attack and can come in handy in the upcoming tournament.

"It's great that Kyle is already with us here in India. He's an integral member of our pace-bowling group and has hit the ground running on this tour. He's a hard-worker with a good set of skills and experiences that will hold him good stead for the tournament," Walter stated.

New Zealand's pace attack for T20 WC

The team currently has a pace attack of Jamieson, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Jacob Duffy for the T20 World Cup. However, the Black Caps had previously announced that both Henry and Ferguson may take a brief paternity leave during the competition.

New Zealand's squad for 2026 T20 World Cup: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi