A huge blow for the New Zealand cricket team, as one of their most prolific bowlers has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which is all set to start in February. On January 23, New Zealand Cricket confirmed the serious injury of their pacer Adam Milne, which ruled him out of the ICC’s elite tournament.
The injury to Milne has devastated the entire Kiwi squad, as he is one of the most effective bowlers in the format. The New Zealand cricket team named Kyle Jamieson as the replacement for the injured seamer. Jamieson is currently in India with the New Zealand cricket team, and after the injury to Milne, he is expected to feature in the T20 World Cup.
Adam Milne ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026
Adam Milne, 33, was in great form for his national team for the past few months, taking wickets on a regular basis. During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the fast bowler proved effective against some of the strongest cricket-playing nations, like Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan. He was on song against Zimbabwe as well.
According to stats, Milne has played 50 T20Is for New Zealand and claimed 65 wickets at an average of 8.30 with the best bowling figure of 5/26. In the SA20 2025-26 campaign, the bowler scalped 11 in 9 matches only, where his economy rate was below 8, 7.61.
NZC informed about the injury
He suffered the injury during an SA20 match on Sunday. Milne was injured while bowling for Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Later, after medical assistance and observations, it was revealed that the fast bowler had grown a seriousness of the injury.
According to the official statement made by the New Zealand cricket board, “Milne suffered the injury while bowling in the SA20 on Sunday, with subsequent scans revealing the extent of the injury. Jamieson, who is currently part of the BLACKCAPS white-ball tour of India, has been added to the T20 World Cup squad after originally being named as the travelling reserve for the February-March tournament in India and Sri Lanka.”
Head coach of New Zealand called the incident 'Unfortunate'
Rob Walter, head coach of New Zealand’s men’s cricket team, is devastated by the fact that Milne will not play in the T20 World Cup. He stated the injury was an unfortunate event.
“We’re all gutted for Adam. He’d worked so hard to get himself ready for the tournament and was looking back to his best in his eight games for the Eastern Cape Sunrisers. It's unfortunate timing for Adam, and we wish him a speedy recovery,” Walter said.
Updated squad of the New Zealand Cricket team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026:
Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Schedule for New Zealand:
Warm-up – v USA – Friday 6 February, 2.30am NZT (Mumbai)
1st T20I - v Afghanistan - Sunday 8 February, 6.30pm NZT (Chennai)
2nd T20I - v UAE - Tuesday 10 February, 10.30pm NZT (Chennai)
3rd T20I - v South Africa - Sunday 15 February, 2.30am NZT (Ahmedabad)
4th T20I - v Canada - Tuesday 17 February, 6.30pm NZT (Chennai)
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