New Zealand's Southee out of India Test sereis

27-year-old will be replaced by paceman Matt Henry

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been ruled out of the three Test series in India with an ankle injury and will be replaced by paceman Matt Henry.

Southee felt pain in his front foot while bowling in training and a scan had shown a ligament strain in his left ankle, New Zealand's cricket board said.

The 27-year-old was the Black Caps’ most experienced bowler with 52 matches under his belt, where he picked 177 wickets at an average 32.63.

The right-arm medium-fast bowler will return home for rest and rehab but is expected to be available for the ODI series starting mid-October.

Kiwis coach Mike Hesson said that Southee is very disappointed after missing out on the Test series."Tim has been working hard in preparation for this tour, so he's understandably very disappointed to be ruled out of all three tests," said Hesson. "The focus now is for Tim to give his ankle seven to 10 days rest, before slowly building his bowling loads back up ahead of the ODI series.

"We've got a replacement who is ready to go in Matt Henry and he'll join the team before the start of the first test."

The 24-year-old Henry has played just three more tests since his debut against England at Lord's last year, his last match against Australia in Christchurch in February.

The series opener starts in Kanpur on September 22 before further matches in Kolkata and Indore.