Tim Southee To Undergo Surgery, ICC World Cup 2023 Fate To Be Decided Next Week- Report

New Zealand fast-bowler Tim Southee will undergo surgery on his thumb on Thursday (September 21) as he looks to regain his fitness for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. The veteran fast-bowler ended up breaking a bone in his thumb while attempting a catch during the fourth ODI of the recently concluded series against England.

New Zealand are willing to wait till the very end to make a final call on Tim Southee’s availability for the marquee event. The ODI World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 5 and teams can make changes to their squad until September 28. After that, they will need permission from the ICC to make any changes to the squad.

With still more than a week remaining before the deadline, New Zealand will make a decision on Tim Southee’s World Cup participation next week. The decision will be taken once the outcome of the surgery is known. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead remained hopeful the star pacer will be able to recover in time for the mega event.

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“He’ll have some pins or screws inserted in his right thumb and, providing the procedure is a success, it will be a matter of ensuring Tim can tolerate the pain and manage the actual wound when returning to train and play.

“Our opening game of the World Cup against England is not until Thursday, October 5 in Ahmedabad, so that would be our logical target in terms of his availability,” said Stead.

“Tim’s obviously a hugely experienced and important figure in our team and we want to give him every chance to be part of this World Cup campaign,” he added.

Tim Southee’s potential replacement:

Tim Southee is one of the most experienced and important players in the New Zealand side. The Black Caps will be desperately hoping that the senior bowler recovers in time for the World Cup. He has been playing international cricket since 2008 and has played 157 ODIs so far, picking up a total of 214 wickets.

Missing Tim Southee will definitely be a huge blow for New Zealand. And there is a chance that he might just not recover for the World Cup. In that case, Adam Milne or Kyle Jamieson could be in contention to replace him in the New Zealand squad. Both the bowlers are part of the squad that will play a three-match series against Bangladesh from September 21.

New Zealand squad for ICC World Cup 2023: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.