New Zealand's Devon Conway out of T20 World Cup Finals & India tour

The New Zealand cricket team is just one step away from claiming their maiden T20 World Cup title and in order to do that they need to defeat Australia in the finals. The New Zealand vs Australia T20 World Cup final is scheduled to be played on Sunday, November 14.

However, ahead of the mega clash, the New Zealand cricket team suffered a major blow with a key member being ruled out from its playing 11 due to a major injury.

Devon Conway to miss T20 World Cup final

Wicketkeeper-batter Devon Conway will miss the T20 World Cup final against Australia, as well as the upcoming tour of India due to a broken hand. Conway sustained the injury after he hit his own bat in frustration following his dismissal against England in the T20 World Cup semifinal.

The cricketer was taken for an X-ray on Thursday, where it was confirmed that he had broken the fifth metacarpal in his right hand. This is the second injury blow to New Zealand during the course of the tournament after Lockie Ferguson was ruled out on the day of their Super 12 opener against Pakistan due to a calf tear.  

New Zealand coach Gary Stead while providing an update on Devon Conway's injury said:

“He’s absolutely gutted to be ruled out like this at this time. Devon is hugely passionate about playing for the Black Caps and no one is more disappointed at the moment than he is - so we’re really trying to rally around him".

Stead added, “It looked a pretty innocuous reactionary incident on the field, but the blow obviously caught the bat between the glove padding and while it’s not the smartest thing he’s done there’s certainly an element of bad luck in the injury. Devon is a great team-man and a very popular member of the side so we’re all feeling for him. He’s determined to support the team in any way he can for the remainder of the tour before he returns home to recover. Due to the timelines we won’t be bringing in a replacement player for this World Cup or next week’s T20 series against India, but are working through our options for the Test series later this month.”

New Zealand's record in ICC tournaments

This will be the third time that New Zealand will be playing in the final of an ICC World Cup. The Kiwi's have previously made it to the finals of two cricket World Cups back in 2015 and 2019, following which they beat India in the finals of the World Test Championship in 2021.