Ish Sodhi ruled out of South Africa T20Is with thumb injury

Ish Sodhi, the New Zealand leg-spinner, has been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa due to a thumb injury.

Sodhi suffered the injury while bowling in a training session at the Bay Oval on Saturday, March 14. Scans confirmed a broken thumb, forcing him out of the series. He will require at least a four-week rest.

He did not feature in the first T20I, where Mitchell Santner paired with Cole McConchie for spin in New Zealand's seven-wicket loss.

New Zealand have decided against calling up a replacement. With Lockie Ferguson, who was set to play games two and three, linking up with the squad, the hosts feel they have adequate cover.

Other players to be included in the latter part of the series are: Katene Clarke (games 4, 5), wicketkeeper Dane Cleaver (games 4-5), and Jayden Lennox (games 4-5), with Tom Latham set to lead in the last two games in Santner's absence.

Coach Rob Walter said: "Ish is very passionate about playing for New Zealand and we know he was looking forward to turning out in front of home fans after the T20 World Cup campaign. He is hugely experienced in the T20 format and so will be a big miss for the remainder of the series."

Sodhi, the fourth-highest wicket-taker in men's T20Is, featured in three games of the 2026 T20 World Cup, bowling twice and going wicketless both times.

New Zealand play the second of their five-match series against South Africa on Tuesday, March 17.

Updated New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (c, games 1-3), Katene Clarke (games 4, 5), Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver (wk, games 4-5), Devon Conway (wk, games 1-3), Lockie Ferguson (games 2-3), Zak Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Tom Latham (wk, captain for games 4,5), Jayden Lennox (games 4-5), Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith.