Hamstring injury rules Guptill out of B'desh T20s

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill has been ruled out of the upcoming T20 series against Bangladesh due to a hamstring strain.

The 30-year-old sustained the injury while running between the wickets during their crushing eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in the third ODI in Nelson on Saturday.

Confirming the news, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) insisted that Guptill has suffered a grade one hamstring strain on his left leg and would take at least two to four weeks to recover completely, ESPNcricinfo reported.

New Zealand have now called in Neil Broom as a replacement for injured Guptill in the T20 squad.

Guptill's injury comes ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series beginning on January 30 in Auckland.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, however, remained hopeful that Guptill would be fit to take on Australia with some rest and a couple of games in the Ford Trophy, the country's domestic one-day tournament.

"Martin's obviously a key player for us with the white ball, so to lose him is disappointing.We're confident with some rest, followed by a couple of domestic games, he'll be ready to play a big role against Australia at the end of January," Hesson said.

New Zealand are slated to play three-match T20 series against Bangladesh beginning on January 3 at Mclean Park, Napier.