Chennai Super Kings opener Devon Conway is ruled out of the first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) . The New Zealand International injured his left thumb during the T20I series against Australia and was also ruled out of the first Test.

However, upon further examination and advice from the medical team, it was concluded that the 32-year-old would require surgery, which ruled him out for at least eight weeks.

This puts Chennai in a state of bother. Conway was exceptional in the last edition of the tournament, scoring 672 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 139.7.

He was extremely consistent and alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad, he managed to give good starts to Chennai in the cash-rich league. Now, in his absence, either Ajinkya Rahane or Rachin Ravindra is expected to open in IPL 2024. Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket released a statement to confirm the latest development which will mean that at least until May Conway is expected to remain out of action.

"BLACKCAPS opener Devon Conway will this week undergo surgery on the left thumb he damaged during the KFC T20I series against Australia. Following several scans and specialist advice, the decision was made to operate on Conway with a likely recovery period of at least eight weeks," read the statement.