Guptill ruled out of UAE tour with calf strain

New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill has been ruled out of the upcoming UAE tour with a calf strain, selector Gavin Larsen confirmed on Friday (October 19). Guptill, who was named in both the T20I and the ODI squads, suffered the injury while preparing for Auckland's Plunket Shield match against Central Stags.

"Unfortunately for Martin it will take him some time to get over this injury," Larsen said. "And, with a long summer ahead, we need to make sure we minimise the risk of him repeating it."

Larsen and new coach Gary Stead will now have three spots to fill in the ODI and T20I squads for the tour. While one will be Guptill's replacement, two more players from New Zealand's A squad that is currently in the UAE will be picked based on their performances. Young sensation Glenn Phillips is in line to be among those two picks following some impressive performances in the shortest format of the game in recent months.

Guptill will now eye a return to the national fold for the home series against Sri Lanka beginning on January 3. However, he still harbours hopes of returning to the Test fold despite not having played a game in the format for two years.

"I had a pretty good winter, injury-less, and picked up a little tweak in the Caribbean and to come back and to be tracking well with that and to get a different injury is extremely frustrating and a bit gutting," Guptill said.

"There's a big summer ahead and I've got to get right for that. I've still got aspirations to play test cricket so playing out here for Auckland this week was going to be a step towards that. I've got to focus on the next part of my rehab and get back there fit and strong."

New Zealand's UAE tour begins with a three-match T20I series starting on October 31 which will then be followed by three ODIs and three Tests.