Harare, July 18 (IANS) Batting all-rounder Glenn Phillips has been withdrawn from New Zealand’s squad for the ongoing men’s T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe after injuring his right groin.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said on Friday that Phillips suffered the injury during the Major League Cricket (MLC) final held between MI New York and Washington Freedom and was assessed on arrival in Zimbabwe, where it was determined he would require a number of weeks to rehabilitate.

Batter Tim Robinson, who joined the squad as cover for players involved in the MLC final, will now stay with the squad for the remainder of the T20I tri-series. Robinson had hit 75 not out for New Zealand in their 21-run win over South Africa in the tri-series game held on July 16.

“It’s obviously disappointing to lose someone of Glenn’s calibre. Much like Finn, we really feel for Glenn and that he misses out on this series. We know he was eager to get out on the field for the BLACKCAPS and unfortunately, he won’t be able to do that for this series. We know he’ll work hard to get himself back onto the park, and I look forward to when that happens,” said head coach Rob Walter in the statement.

NZC further said Phillips’ replacement in the Test squad for the series against Zimbabwe will be named in due course. For now, Phillips will return to New Zealand with Mitch Hay and Jimmy Neesham, who were also called in as cover alongside Robinson.

Earlier this year, a right groin injury sustained while coming in as a substitute fielder had previously ruled out Phillips from his stint with the Gujarat Titans’ in IPL 2025.

New Zealand updated squad: Mitch Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Devon Conway, and Tim Robinson

–IANS

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