New Zealand’s white ball captain Kane Williamson is unlikely to play in India later this year. He suffered an injury in the IPL and was away from cricket for a long time. However, a good news has emerged ahead of the tournament for New Zealand Cricket.
Williamson may travel to India in the World Cup as a mentor. Head coach Gary Stead said he would certainly like to use the experienced batsman and limited-overs captain in a mentor-like role.
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Williamson is in rehab after successful anterior cruciate ligament surgery in his right knee. The 32-year-old suffered the injury while fielding in his debut match for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League last month. In an attempt to stop the six at the boundary, Williamson jumped high and landed wrongly, injuring his knee. The injury was so serious that he had to be carried off the field
Before the five-match ODI series against Pakistan, coach Stead said – it is too early to say anything about him. He has had an operation and we know it has been successful. So he is in the very early stages of his rehab, presently he is in the stage of not being able to bear any weight and is able to walk with support. There is still a lot of time left for him to recover.
The type of injury Williamson has suffered could take up to nine months to heal. At the same time, the World Cup is to be played in October-November. However, Stead is still optimistic. He said – the chances of him playing are very less, but we certainly cannot rule out a player of his caliber. The strength he gives to this team, we can still say that there is still a chance.
The New Zealand team has been the runner-up in the last two ODI World Cups. The Black Caps lost the previous edition of the ODI World Cup in 2019 on boundary count under Williamson’s captaincy. Williamson was the Player of the Tournament in the previous edition i.e. 2019 ODI World Cup.
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His team definitely lost to England in the final, but Williamson definitely won everyone’s heart with his batting. He scored 578 runs in 10 matches in the tournament at an average of 82.57 and a strike rate of 74.97. In this tournament, he scored two centuries and two half-centuries. Apart from this, there were also two wickets.