The releasing of Kane Williamson was a bold move made by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.
SRH had sacked David Warner mid-season as the captain in 2021 and instated Williamson as their main man. Even when Rashid Khan, the serial T20 match-winner, demanded the 14 crore bracket and the top priority, SRH showed him the door to retain the New Zealand skipper.
However, a poor IPL 2022 tournament for the team -SRH finished 8th in 10 teams – and for Williamson individually, coupled with his high 14 crore retention price saw SRH make the big call of releasing him and inflate their purse.
SRH can buy Williamson back too – the 32-year-old still is a top-quality batter and a proven leader – but other franchises might eye him too.
Yet, there are reasons why franchises should refrain from spending too much on Kane Williamson in IPL 2023 auction:
Disappointing form in T20 cricket in 2022
The primary reason any players gets released or left out is their dipping form. It’s the story with Kane Williamson too: in IPL 2022, the SRH skipper averaged only 19 at a dismal strike rate of 93! In 2022 in T20s overall, he averaged 28 at a strike rate of 109.
Elbow Injury issues
Williamson’s elbow injury issues have played a major part in his poor run of form over the last couple of years in T20 cricket. Ahead of the IPL 2022, the Kiwi captain himself had expressed grave frustrations over his elbow injury saying that at times he had wanted to just “cut it off”. He’s been battling a tendon injury in his left elbow over the last couple of years, for which he’d missed a number of games for his country too.
This grapple with his elbow injury has hampered him from playing certain shots, especially the big hits that the T20 game demands. And there’s little to suggest that his T20 batting has improved: in the recent T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Williamson played at a strike rate of 116 and 117 in the following home T20I series against India.
Honestly: Not worth a big price anymore
The number of factors that culminated in SRH deciding to release Williamson would tell you that he’s not the same player that he was in T20 cricket prior to say 2020. While SRH would have shrugged off Williamson’s poor form with the bat last season – but it has been since two years now – it was the retained price of 14 crore, plus an overseas slot in the XI that would have made the decision of releasing him easier.
The same goes for other franchises at the auction table. If you can get Williamson – a good anchor T20 batsman who though needs to amp up his strike rate, and a proven, successful captain – for about 4-5 crores, it’s a good buy. Anthing more than 6-7 crores – unless you are desperately looking for a captain – would just not be worth it.
