Ravindra, a New Zealand cricketer who was hit by a ball in the face, is back to training.

Rachin Ravindra, a New Zealand all-rounder who was struck by a ball during a fielding accident and suffered a concussion, has returned to training but still needs to complete the concussion protocol before he can return to the field.

Ravindra was struck in the head during a warm up match for the Champions Trophy in Lahore on Saturday after he lost sight of the football in the floodlights while attempting to catch it.

Stead said that although Ravindra had passed his initial Head Injury Assessment (HIA), he suffered headaches over the next few days. He would have to pass further HIAs before he could be declared fit.

The ODI Tri-Series Final against Pakistan will be played in Karachi on Friday. He is unlikely to play in the Champions Trophy opener in the same city against the hosts, next Wednesday.

Stead, who declined to give a timeline for Ravindra's arrival, said that "he's had headaches for a couple of days, but I think they're subsiding, which is good news."

"He has a few balls for the first night, which is great, but he still needs to do a couple more things before he can be considered ready to play."

The news was more positive for Lockie Ferguson. Stead had expected him to be back in action by Sunday for the Champions Trophy warm-up match against Afghanistan, which will take place in Karachi.

Ferguson was injured while competing in the ILT20 competition of United Arab Emirates.

New Zealand, which has played a lot of cricket in Pakistan, and its star batsman Kane Williamson are all fired up to win their second Champions Trophy title. This will be the first time since 2000 that they have won the tournament in Kenya.

(source: Reuters)