Tom Blundell ruled out of Pakistan ODIs; Daryl Mitchell to join squad

Tom Blundell, the New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter, has been ruled out of the team's upcoming ODI series against Pakistan due to a left-quad strain. Blundell had sustained the injury in the recently-concluded T20I series in Bangladesh, during the fourth game.

Blundell will be replaced in the squad by allrounder Daryl Mitchell, who was originally set to join the team for T20I leg of the Pakistan tour, but will now be available for selection from the second ODI once he has completed his mandatory isolation. Mitchell had made his ODI debut against Bangladesh earlier this year, and scored an unbeaten 100 in the third game of that series, in Wellington.

"Tom's been working hard since the injury in Bangladesh," Nishil Shah, the New Zealand physio, said. "The injury's not quite where we want it so we think it's best for him to concentrate on his rehab given the big summer of cricket ahead."

Blundell has not played an ODI since he made his debut in the home series against India last February. During the recent T20Is against Bangladesh, he played four matches, scoring a total of 42 runs.

"Obviously everyone is gutted for Tom, he's a quality player with a diverse skill-set," New Zealand's coach Glenn Pocknall said. "He'll remain with the squad and we're hopeful he'll be available again for the T20I series."

"We're fortunate to have someone of Daryl's quality to join us early for the ODIs. He's shown last summer what a destructive batsman he is, while also offering another useful bowling option.

"With Tom out, we do lose our first choice back-up wicketkeeping option. However there are several guys in the squad with keeping experience and we'll ensure they do the necessary work at training to be up to speed if called upon."

New Zealand will begin their tour of Pakistan with the first ODI in Rawalpindi on September 17.