Williamson to fly back to New Zealand for impending birth of child

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be without their skipper Kane Williamson in their last league-stage encounter against Punjab Kings, with the 31-year-old returning to New Zealand for the impending birth of his second child.

𝑶𝑭𝑭𝑰𝑪𝑰𝑨𝑳 𝑼𝑷𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬:

Our skipper Kane Williamson is flying back to New Zealand, to usher in the latest addition to his family. 🧡

Here's everyone at the #Riser camp wishing Kane Williamson and his wife a safe delivery and a lot of happiness!#OrangeArmy #ReadyToRise pic.twitter.com/3CFbvN60r4

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 18, 2022

One of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Nicholas Pooran could lead Hyderabad against Punjab on May 22 at the Wankhede Stadium. The former has led SRH in the past, while Pooran has recently been appointed as West Indies' new white-ball captain.

Both Hyderabad and Punjab could still qualify for the playoffs but will need a lot of results to go in their favour. They need to win this game by a massive margin and will also need Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals to lose their respective encounters.

One of the key reasons why SRH have struggled in this competition is because of the horrible form of Williamson. The right-hander only managed 216 runs in 13 innings at a horrid strike rate of 93.5, which is clearly the lowest amongst batters who have faced at least 100 deliveries this season. 

On Tuesday against Mumbai Indians, Hyderabad managed to break their five-match losing streak and Williamson batted at No. 6, allowing Priyam Garg to open the innings with Abhishek Sharma. In Williamson’s absence, SRH could bring in fellow New Zealander Glenn Phillips. The latter can bat anywhere in the line-up and is also a handy offspinner.