Kane Williamson's Injury Leaves New Zealand Cricket Worried Over His Availability for 2023 World Cup

New Zealand batter Kane Williamson was ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 owing to a knee injury that he suffered in the season opener against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday in Ahmedabad. The Gujarat Titans batter got himself in a tangle while trying to save a boundary and had to leave the field. He was later replaced by Sai Sudharsan, who came into the mix as an ‘Impact Player’.

New Zealand is an important figure in New Zealand’s cricketing set-up and it’s no wonder the Black Caps would be concerned with the nature of his injury, especially when the ICC World Cup is a few months away. According to IANS, New Zealand coach Gary Stead said it was ‘too early to know’ for how long Williamson will be out of action and whether the former Black Caps captain will be fit for the showpiece event, scheduled to be played in India later this year.

IPL FULL COVERAGE | SCHEDULE | RESULTS | ORANGE CAP | PURPLE CAP

On Saturday, during the pre-match press conference for the T20I series opener against Sri Lanka, New Zealand coach Gary Stead put up a cautious front to questions about Williamson’s availability for the World Cup.

“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," Stead was quoted as saying by media in New Zealand.

The New Zealand head coach further said he spoke to Williamson since the incident and found him in ‘OK’ spirits.

“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 the captain of your white ball team, being injured. It’s a big blow for him, and it’s a big blow for us," Stead added.

The Black Caps coaching and medical staff were aiming to get a more detailed prognosis from his Gujarat Titans franchise by Sunday morning, with Williamson likely to have had a scan on the knee.

(With Agency Inputs)

Get the latest Cricket News here