New Zealand suffer Tom Latham blow ahead of Pakistan ODIs

New Zealand captain Tom Latham has been ruled out from the upcoming Pakistan series after fracturing his hand during training.

Michael Bracewell will be leading the side in his absence, said the Black Caps in a statement. Henry Nicholls has been called up to replace the injured left hander.

Latham was due to leader the Black Caps with captain Mitchell Santner at the Indian Premier League.

He was struck on the right-hand this week with x-rays confirming the extent of the damage.

Moreover, Will Young will drop out of the squad following the first match in his hometown of Napier ahead of the birth of his first child.

The uncapped 23-year-old batter Rhys Mariu, who has a first-class average of 61.73, has earned his first call-up as cover.

“We’ve had to be flexible this tour with numerous players unavailable for different reasons,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “What it does do is offer opportunities to others players and it’s nice to introduce Rhys into the environment for the first time, as well as welcome back Henry.

“It’s obviously disappointing to lose Tom as captain on the eve of the series and we wish him a speedy recovery. The side is in safe hands with Michael who’s done a great job through the T20I series,” he added.

The uncapped pair of Muhammad Abbas and Nick Kelly had previously earned call-ups for the series while Kane Williamson made himself unavailable.