T20 World Cup: Martin Guptill doubtful starter for India clash? New Zealand's coach gives update

There are chances that the New Zealand cricket team might face India in a crunch T20 clash on Sunday (October 31) without experienced Martin Guptill. The star opener injured his toe during their clash against Pakistan that The Blackcaps lost by five wickets in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which is underway in UAE and Oman.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said Guptill was not feeling comfortable after he took a blow to the big toe from a Pak pacer Haris Rauf delivery just before he was dismissed for 17 runs.

"Guptill was looking in a little bit of discomfort at the end of the match and the next 24 to 48 hours will be decisive," Stead told reporters after the match.

"We'll see how he scrubs up overnight. He looked in a little bit of discomfort at the end of the game and it might take 24 to 48 hours to see how he goes."

In case it happens, Guptill absence can be a massive blow to the team after paceman Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the tournament with a calf muscle tear.

Stead said he had been disappointed that the International Cricket Council's Technical Committee had not approved Adam Milne as Ferguson's replacement in time to play the Pakistan match.

"We tried pretty hard today to get across the line with the ICC our replacement player, but it wasn't to be," he added.

"That was really disappointing for us because Adam Milne is someone who's waiting in the wings as a like-for-like replacement. We'll seek clarification on that decision of theirs."

Talking about the match against Pakistan, Stead said, "You would imagine that Pakistan are now the hot favourites in our group to be the number one seed and the rest of us are fighting it out for the next spot, which makes the India game pretty critical."

"You sometimes have to lose one to find out the important things for you. If we can go and beat India then we certainly put ourselves back on the right track."