NZ v WI 2020: Colin de Grandhomme, Ajaz Patel ruled out of New Zealand vs West Indies series

New Zealand has suffered a double blow before the West Indies series as all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and spinner Ajaz Patel have been ruled out due to injuries. De Grandhomme has a bruising in his right foot while Patel has failed to recover from a torn calf muscle.

All-rounders Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner have been named as the replacements for the duo by New Zealand Cricket.

Daryl Mitchell made his Test debut last summer and impressed with a 73 against England. He is a right-handed batsman with a useful medium-pace.

Mitchell Santner, on the other hand, is an established name in New Zealand cricket, especially for the white-ball squads. He will be looking to make a mark in the longest format after losing his place to Patel, who has emerged as a Test specialist in the last few years. Santner is also a brilliant batsman lower down the order, with the ability to hit the ball long.

Both Grandhomme and Patel were Test regulars. The former's more-than-useful batting in the lower order will be missed.

Patel's average of 33.42 with the ball fails to show what he brings to the table in pace-friendly New Zealand wickets.

His ability can be judged by a recent game against Pakistan in the UAE, where he took 7 wickets to win a humdinger for his team.

Replacements have proved themselves in the conditions: New Zealand head coach

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said in a statement:

Mitch and Daryl will be available for the final T20 game before linking up with the test squad on Tuesday where we will monitor them closely to ensure they’re fit and fresh ahead of the first test.

They both proved last summer in the tests against England what they can do in our conditions with Mitch scoring a century and claiming three wickets at Bay Oval, while Daryl produced a polished half-century on debut at Seddon Park.

West Indies have already started their tour to New Zealand with a practice game on 20th November. The T20I series will kick on with the first of three games, slated for 27th November, followed by a 2-Test match series starting on 3rd December.