Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand’s ODI team, will be selected for the World Cup roster, although it is still unclear how much of the tournament he will be able to play in. Gary Stead, the head coach of the Black Caps, believed that his 33-year-old batter had recovered sufficiently from a knee injury sustained while playing for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2023 season opener. “Kane has applied phenomenal dedication to his rehabilitation and has been supported by a strong group of experts around him,” said Stead. “He has tried everything possible to resume playing cricket at the greatest level. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to choose him.
At the same time, he has maintained perspective regarding his recovery and has avoided trying to force or rush his way back too soon. It’s excellent that he wants to play cricket for New Zealand in the long run, as we’ve already stated.
Williamson’s involvement was not subject to any time constraints, according to Stead, and his development would be watched over the coming month when the World Cup begins on October 5 in Ahmedabad against the defending champions, England. We want to give Kane as much time as possible to facilitate his recuperation, as we have emphasized throughout this process. Since the World Cup is a lengthy competition, we will keep track of his development in the month leading up to the opening game.
Since having surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in late April, Williamson has been in rehabilitation. In anticipation of maybe playing in the World Cup at some point, he returned to the nets in early August and has been building up his training regimen.
“Throughout the whole process, I’ve tried to have an open mind about when I might be ready to resume playing cricket and avoid becoming overly fixated on any particular date or game. Being chosen doesn’t alter that, and I am aware that I still have work to do and daily objectives to complete in order to rejoin the squad on the pitch.
On September 11, the remaining members of New Zealand’s World Cup team will be revealed.