It would be a big blow to the aspirations of the New Zealand team and their fans of a maiden ODI World Cup trophy if Kane Williamson misses the tournament in India, which is only a couple of months away.
New Zealand have lost the last two ODI World Cups finals – to Australia in 2015 at the MCG and to England in 2019 at Lord’s in what is the greatest final ever played. New Zealand were agonizingly left in heart-break in the 2019 final as they lost on boundary count, after the regular match and the Super Over getting tied.
Kane Williamson was awarded the Player of the Tournament in the 2019 WC for his brilliant batting and exceptional captaincy as the Kiwis once again punched above their weight in an ICC event.
Kane Williamson suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] in his right knee when making his debut for the Gujarat Titans in the opening match of the IPL 2023. He underwent a surgery for the same in April.
Initially it had looked the the New Zealand captain would miss the World Cup 2023, but his progress has been promising and there is a finally a glimmer of hope, but the path of full recovery is still long.
Will Kane Williamson play in World Cup 2023?
Recovering from an ACL injury, Kane Williamson said getting fit till October is a “slim” and “tough goal” for him. At the moment, it seems unlikely that Williamson will be fully fit for World Cup 2023.
On August 1st, he posted a video on social media of having his first net session post surgery and taking some throwdowns. He hasn’t started facing bowlers in the nets yet, but he will tour with the New Zealand players for their upcoming white-ball assignments in England.
“To be at the World Cup is always special. It’s still just guesswork at the moment in terms of when the day is or how it’s tracking at the time,” Williamson told reporters at the Bay Oval earlier this week.
“There’s a lot of work to do. I am just really following the programme, with the professionals for physio, the support staff and New Zealand Cricket. And it’s tough, because you do have some good days, and then you have a few variable ones.”
