After injuring her left quadricep muscle, New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr will miss the last two ODIs against India. Kerr sustained the injury during Thursday’s opening match, which India won by 59 runs, and it would likely take him three weeks to fully heal. The ODI team will not replace her.
With the WBBL championship starting on Sunday, this further casts doubt on her participation for the Sydney Sixers. Even if she heals in three weeks, Amelia, a well-known pre-signing for the Sixers as a platinum-category pick, may miss eight of the team’s ten league games.
According to a notice from NZC, Amelia was sent for scans on Friday morning, which showed that she had a grade-one quadricep rupture. She will return home on Sunday to begin her recovery.
“We’re really gutted for Melie,” Ben Sawyer, the head coach of New Zealand, stated. “We understand how upset she is to be unable to play these games since injuries are always a difficult period for a player.
“Everyone knows how much of an integral part of this team Melie is so we’ll certainly miss her but we’re wishing her a speedy recovery.”
Amelia was the greatest bowler for New Zealand in the first ODI as well, taking 4 for 42 before hitting an undefeated 25 off 23 in the chase. This came shortly after she was instrumental in the team’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign, when she was the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 15 scalps. The last two ODIs will take place in Ahmedabad on October 27 and 29.
A top-six position in the Women’s ODI Championship would guarantee direct qualifying for the ODI World Cup in 2025, and Amelia’s absence might harm New Zealand’s chances of moving up the table. The next game for New Zealand, which is presently ranked sixth out of ten nations, is against Australia in December.
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