Follow UsKane Williamson suffered an ACL injury in the IPL 2023, and that ruled him out of the upcoming World Cup in India. So severe had been the issue that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced Tom Latham as the coach for the mega event, but in a sudden turn of events, the Kiwi skipper has now regained some fitness to take throwdown in the nets.
While there’s no clear update yet, New Zealand Cricket, which have already announced Tom Latham as the skipper for the mega event, but they have time till September 5 to make any prospective changes. Coach Gary Stead wants to wait till then to have a definitive update on the talismanic batter.
"[We've] got about two weeks from now until we name that side. Going to give him every chance and use that full amount of time,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.
"He's in full rehab mode, he's back batting in the nets again, which is great to see. He's progressing really well but again, there's a lot of work for him still to do to make sure he gets to where we need him to be."
There is another school of thought that Williamson is to be included in the 15-member squad even though he is not fit for the entire duration. That would mean giving every chance for him to be fit for the later half of the tournament.
"They are all the things we are weighing up right now. There's a chance that even if Kane was named that he wouldn't be available right at the start of the tournament. But he also might be, and he also might not be ready.
"It's still a little bit of crystal-ball gazing [about] where he will be at. Yes, of course, we want him at the World Cup but there is that bigger picture in mind that we want Kane Williamson fit for the rest of his career.
"They'll be honest conversations that Kane and I will have with each other around exactly where he is at, to make sure we get the best outcome for our team but also the best outcome for Kane Williamson and his long-term career.”