London, Aug 29 Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa and New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner have been ruled out of Surrey’s knockout matches ahead of the resumption of the T20 Blast this season. Surrey, who topped the South Group, are set to face Northamptonshire in the quarterfinals at The Oval on September 3. Santner, 33, had earlier withdrawn from The Hundred due to injury and remains unavailable.
Later, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said Santner had experienced pain in his groin while playing in The Hundred and has since returned home. NZC had also said Santner will undergo abdominal surgery with a recovery period of around one month, leaving him in a race against time to be fit for the series against Australia.
"Mitch is a world-class player and a crucial part of our T20 side from a skills and leadership point of view. With that in mind, we expect to name him in our squad when we announce it in a couple of weeks, and from there we can assess how his rest and rehabilitation progress following surgery, before making a call on the eve of the series," head coach Rob Walter had said at that time.
Santner had featured in seven matches for Surrey in the Blast, scoring 29 runs and claiming 14 wickets at an average of 12.42. Meanwhile, Zampa, 33, will also miss out with Surrey, saying in a statement that ‘disappointingly’ the leg-spinner’s absence is due to Cricket Australia commitments, which we weren’t made aware of when we signed him.
Zampa played four matches for Surrey this season, taking nine wickets at an average of 13.22. The county club also confirmed that New Zealand pacer Nathan Smith will not feature again in the T20 Blast after sustaining an injury during the Black Caps’ 2-0 Test series win against Zimbabwe.
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