There is a piece of bad news coming from the New Zealand camp, their one of the key pacers, Ben Sears, has been ruled out of the India tour due to a knee injury. Jacob Duffy, who is yet to make his Tests debut, has been called up as Sears' replacement and will leave for India on Wednesday morning. The first Test of the series is scheduled to take place on October 16th in the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This was not the first time when NZ had suffered a blow in their team, earlier their former captain, Kane Williamson got ruled out of the first Test match against India due to a ‘groin injury.’ He is expected to join the team in the later part of the series though. Sears, who had impressed with a brilliant Test debut in the recent home summer, began feeling discomfort in his left knee during training sessions in Sri Lanka. After returning home for scans, it was confirmed that he had suffered a meniscus tear. This unfortunate injury led to the tough decision of pulling him from the squad. While the timeline for his recovery remains unclear, team management remains optimistic about his return. Also Read: Rachin Ravindra Reveals Why Bengaluru Test is 'Extra Special' for Him It’s An Exciting Opportunity For Jacob: Gary Stead Jacob Duffy who is Otago's all-time leading wicket-taker with 299 First-Class wickets to his name, brings considerable experience to the team. Meanwhile, head coach Gary Stead addressed Sears' injury but expressed optimism about Duffy being brought into the squad. Gary said: “We’re obviously disappointed for Ben who made a strong start to his Test career during the home summer and offers a genuine pace option.”