The New Zealand cricket team has suffered a big blow as their star batter Kane Williamson is all set to miss the upcoming edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup. The upcoming World Cup will take place in India in October and November later this year, and as per reports, Williamson is ‘unlikely’ to take part in it.
Kane Williamson Set To Be Ruled Out Of ODI World Cup 2023
Williamson suffered a knee injury last week during the Gujarat Titans IPL 2023 opening match against the Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad. Williamson injured his knee while attempting to save a definite six. Because of the injury, he was ruled out of the game first and then from the tournament.
According to various reports from New Zealand, Williamson is set to miss this year’s ODI World Cup as well after the scans on Tuesday revealed that he’d ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament on his right knee. He will now have to go under the knife, making it unlikely he will be fit and available for selection for the marquee tournament.
“Naturally it’s disappointing to get such an injury, but my focus now is on having the surgery and starting rehab,” Williamson, who will have surgery later this month, said in a news release.
“It’s going to take some time, but I’ll be doing everything I can to get back on the field as soon as possible.”
Painful to see Kane Williamson in this situation!
Wishing him a speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/cngFRlQiyg
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 4, 2023
Williamson To Go Under The Knife
Williamson led New Zealand to the 2019 World Cup final, where they lost the summit clash to England on the basis of a boundary count. He played a crucial role with the bat in that tournament, having scored 578 runs in nine innings of 10 matches.
While his unavailability for the ODI World Cup is a big blow for the side, however, the Kiwi coach Gary Stead is still hopeful about his availability. He said:
“It’s a huge spanner in the works for us,” he said. “We haven’t given up hope that he might be right, but at this stage it looks unlikely. “Our first thoughts are with Kane, it’s a tough time for him. It’s not an injury that you’d expect, it’s come out of the blue, and it obviously hits you hard at the time.”
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