New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell is an injury doubt for the T20 World Cup after fracturing his hand in training on Friday.
Mitchell has been ruled out of the T20 Tri-Series encounters with Pakistan and Bangladesh, having taken a blow on his right hand while batting in the nets.
The 31-year-old has broken his fifth metacarpal and Blacks Caps physio Theo Kapakoulakis confirmed he wear a cast for at least two weeks.
New Zealand will face hosts and holders Australia at the SCG in their first game of the World Cup in a repeat of last year's final on October 22.
Black Caps head coach Gary Stead will not rush into deciding whether Mitchell will fly out with the squad on October 15.
"It's a real shame for Daryl to suffer this injury on the eve of an exciting period of cricket for the side," Stead said.
"Daryl's become a really important player to our T20 unit and we're certainly going to miss his all-round skills and versatility in the Tri-Series.
"With our first game of the World Cup in just over two weeks we need to take some to consider Daryl's recovery timeline and his potential involvement in the tournament."
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