New Zealand suffered a big blow ahead of the Test series against India as pacer Ben Sears was ruled out of the series due to a knee injury. Uncapped pacer Jacob Duffy was named his replacement. Duffy is expected to leave for India on Wednesday morning, the first day of the series opener at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. New Zealand Cricket released a statement and said that Ben Sears experienced pain in his left knee during training in Sri Lanka and underwent scans which revealed a tear to his meniscus.

"Sears experienced pain in his left knee while training during the recent Test series in Sri Lanka and underwent scans in New Zealand last week," a New Zealand Cricket statement on Tuesday morning said. "His departure to India was delayed after scans revealed a tear to his meniscus, and the first available medical consultation was sought in the hope that he might have been cleared.

"However, following the medical advice, the decision was made to rule him out of the series. A plan on the best course of treatment and rehabilitation for the injury will be advised in due course."

In the absence of Sears, New Zealand will have to make up their fast bowlers from Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke. In terms of spin bowling options, Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner are two quality options while Rachin Ravindra can also chip in with a few handy overs of spin. Daryl Mitchell can provide them with the option of a fast-bowling all-rounder.

"We're obviously disappointed for Ben, who made a strong start to his Test career during the home summer, and offers a genuine pace option," New Zealand head coach Gary Stead

"It remains to be seen how long we'll be without him for, but we're hopeful his road to a full recovery will be a short one. It's an exciting opportunity for Jacob, who has been around Test the squad before. With three Tests ahead of us, he has every chance of making his Test debut."

Meanwhile, Duffy is yet to make his Test debut but has played six ODIs ad 14 T20Is so far. He has 299 first-class wickets to his name.

"Jacob's recent experience playing for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship certainly pushed his place," Stead said. "His performances in white-ball cricket for the Black Caps have always been impressive, and we're confident he'll be able to contribute if called upon."

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.