Groin strain forces New Zealand paceman Kyle Mills to return home

ace bowler Kyle Mills will take no further part in New Zealand’s one-day series against Pakistan after injuring his groin in training, the team said.

A groin injury is sending pace bowler Kyle Mills back to New Zealand to undergo additional tests and treatment. Michael Bradley / AFP
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DUBAI // Pace bowler Kyle Mills will take no further part in New Zealand’s one-day series against Pakistan after injuring his groin in training, the team said on Saturday.

Mills, 34, sustained the injury while bowling in the nets ahead of the second one-day international against Pakistan at Sharjah.

A timeline for Mills’s return to action is unknown, but he will fly home to New Zealand for further assessment and treatment, the team said. No decision has been made on a replacement.

Mills featured in the second Twenty20 against Pakistan and took 3-26 as New Zealand levelled the two-match series at 1-1.

He managed just one wicket for 54 runs in the tourists’ defeat in the first one-day international in Dubai on Monday.

Pakistan and New Zealand are currently locked at 1-1 in the five-match series, with the third ODI today in Sharjah.

Pakistan won the first match by three wickets, while New Zealand clinched the second by four wickets on Friday.

Mills faces a race against time to regain full fitness for New Zealand’s two-Test home series against Sri Lanka, starting in Christchurch on Boxing Day. The teams will also play seven ODIs as part of the tour.

Meanwhile, leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been called into the Pakistan squad for the rest of the one-day series to replace injured pace bowlers Umar Gul and Bilawal Bhatti.

Young all-rounder Anwar Ali was also called up for the remaining three games in the series. The fitness of captain Misbah-ul-Haq is also a concern for Pakistan after he suffered a hamstring problem during their loss h on Friday.

Shahid Afridi will lead the team if Misbah is ruled out.

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