He is keeping and batting in the nets: NZ coach gives update on injured Conway's recovery

New Delhi: New Zealand head coach Gary Stead provided an update on injured Devon Conway, who had to miss the IPL 2024 due to thumb injury, and said "he’s fine and doing wicket keeping drills" ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Injured Conway has missed his time with the Chennai Super Kings, but he is still training with the team. The first-choice wicket-keeper for New Zealand, Conway and Finn Allen, haven't played since February because of thumb and back ailments, respectively.

Allen was still feeling a little sore, according to Stead, and he would be training harder during the team camp at Mount Maunganui.

When Conway gets back from India next week, the medical staff will evaluate him. "(He) is tracking nicely. He's been wicketkeeping and batting in the nets on a regular basis," Stead was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Stead, however, remained confident in preparations ahead of facing Afghanistan. "We've only got two players who haven't been to a T20 World Cup that are in this squad. That shows our group is experienced and they can lean back on those past experiences," he said.

Opting out of official warm-up matches due to logistical hurdles, New Zealand instead focused on intensive training sessions, drawing strength from the diverse experiences of their players.

Stead also acknowledged the difficulties of assembling the squad in the Caribbean but expressed confidence in their preparation despite the absence of warm-up fixtures.

"West Indies is a tough place to get to for a start, so it's not easy to get everyone to Trinidad and Tobago at the same time. For us, we don't have warm-up games. There's a number of guys who have been in the IPL for the last two months and we've also recently come off the tour to Pakistan.

"There's a lot of experience in the group who have played in the CPL before, so we'll be leaning on those guys and making sure the trainings we get prior to the first game puts us in a position of where we want to be," Stead said.

The 52-year-old further emphasised the importance of thorough planning in facing both familiar foes and lesser-known teams in the tournament. "Certainly looking forward to the challenge ahead and also the unknown of some of these new teams as well, the difference they might bring that we have to be really complete with our planning," he concluded.