Kane Williamson Ruled Out Of Bangladesh ODIs With Elbow Injury
Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, has been ruled out of the forthcoming ODI series against Bangladesh with an elbow injury.
Williamson will be resting and rehabilitating instead of taking part in the three-match series due to begin on March 20 in Dunedin.
Williamson is carrying small tear in his left elbow tendon
Williamson has been carrying a small tear in his left elbow tendon and is experiencing irritation in it since the second half of the home summer.
Dayle Shackel, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) medical manager, informed that Williamson has been managing this injury throughout the season. With no improvement till now, Williamson and the management have decided to take no further risks.
“Kane’s been managing the elbow injury to varying degrees this summer and unfortunately it hasn’t improved,” Shackel said in a media release. “He obviously has a high volume of training and playing across the three formats, which has inhibited his ability to recover. We believe he now needs a period of rest and rehabilitation to get the injury right.”
“Time-frames can vary but we’re hopeful that, after an initial rest, he should be able to begin rehabilitation next week,” he added.
Williamson’s decision to take rest not easy: Stead
New Zealand coach Gary Stead said it wasn’t easy for Williamson to take his name back from the series but he had to be mindful of the bigger picture. New Zealand are due to travel to England for a two-match Test series which precedes the final of the World Test Championship against India. Apart from a busy international calendar, Williamson also has his IPL commitments with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
“Kane loves playing for his country – so it hasn’t been an easy decision to step back,” Stead said. “A batsman’s front elbow is crucial to his game and with the injury not improving it was clear something needed to be done.”
“We’ve got a huge year of cricket ahead with an England Test tour and ICC World Test Championship Final first up in May and June [June and July], and we want to make sure we have Kane fit and firing for that,” he added.
Christchurch and Wellington will host the last two ODIs of the series against Bangladesh on March 23 and 26. The series is part of the inaugural cycle of the ICC Super League which determines 2023 World Cup qualification spots.
The visitors will also face the Blackcaps in a T20I series featuring matches in Hamilton, Napier and Auckland on March 28, 30 and April 1.