Gary Stead discussed Kane Williamson’s knee injury sustained during the IPL 2023 opener against the CSK on Friday in Ahmedabad. While Stead indicated he had yet to get more details on the injury, he noted the seriousness of the mishap and admitted it being a major setback for the Kiwis as they enter a World Cup year. Williamson, playing for the Gujarat Titans in his inaugural match, leapt for the square-leg boundary to take a catch off Ruturaj Gaikwad, caught it, but then tossed it back on the field upon realizing he was over the line. The 32-year-old hit the turf painfully when he landed on his right leg.
Coach Stead mentioned that they would be able to better understand the extent of Kane Williamson’s injury in the coming days, and it isn’t something that should be taken lightly. He said:
“Our first thoughts are obviously with him, we’re not sure at this stage of the severity of the injury. He’s being assessed in the next 24-48 hours, so we will know more after that. All we know at this stage is it’s his right knee. Unfortunately I can’t give you much more than that now until we find out more information. It’s not nice to see anyone, let alone your captain of your white ball team, being injured. It’s a big blow for him, and it’s a big blow for us.”
Despite the lack of their star Kiwi batter, the Titans cruised to victory with four balls remaining and five wickets in hand. Gujarat’s Shubman Gill led the way with a top score of 63, while Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan managed to guide their team out of a tricky situation and to an easy win in pursuit of 179 runs.
Kane Williamson is likely to miss the ODI series in Pakistan
Tom Latham will captain the New Zealand squad on their T20I tour of Pakistan this month, but Williamson will not be a part of the roster due to his commitments in the IPL. Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner, and Glenn Phillips are joining him on the sidelines, all of whom have opted out of the tour instead of taking part in the IPL. This follows New Zealand’s ODI series victory over Pakistan in January, where the right-handed batter played an integral role in their triumphant comeback from 0-1 down.