Chanderpaul fails to recover from side strain; ruled out of final New Zealand Test

Tagenarine Chanderpaul has been officially ruled out of the third and final Test against New Zealand, as the West Indies opener has not fully recovered from the side strain injury sustained earlier in the tour, according to an update from Cricket West Indies.

Chanderpaul initially suffered the strain while playing a shot in the nets before the second Test in Wellington, which immediately forced him out of that match.

Despite the team’s medical staff assessing the full extent of the damage, the recovery timeline has not allowed the 29-year-old left-hander to regain fitness for the series finale.

The third Test starts on Wednesday in Mount Maunganui from 18:00h (Guyana Time).

The opener had been in decent form in the drawn first Test in Christchurch, posting a significant 52 in the first innings before scoring six in the second.

More so, the team’s Performance Analyst, Avenesh Seetaram, has returned home due to a personal family matter.

New Zealand squad for third Test: Tom Latham (capt), Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Kristian Clarke, ⁠⁠Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Daryl Mitchell, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Rachin Ravindra, ⁠Kane Williamson, Will Young

West Indies squad: Roston Chase (Captain), Jomel Warrican (Vice-Captain), Alick Athanaze, John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Ojay Shields