New Zealand Kane Williamson finds himself with a fourteen-day window to validate his fitness for the upcoming ODI World Cup in India. He has rejoined the Kiwi squad in England to continue his rehabilitation journey after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury during Gujarat Titans’ first game of the Indian Premier League 2023.
Back in April, when Williamson first suffered this injury, his chances of participating in the World Cup were considered exceedingly slim. Yet, recent weeks have shown promising strides in his recovery, prompting the team to grant him ample opportunity to demonstrate his readiness.
Although the deadline for submitting the 15-player squads to the ICC is September 5, alterations can be made freely until September 28, without necessitating prior approval.
“[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.”
“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,”
said New Zealand head coach Gary Stead.
Essentially, New Zealand has two potential strategies to navigate the Williamson predicament and their World Cup aspirations. One route involves potentially including him in the squad presented to the ICC, a month ahead of their World Cup opener on October 5 even if he is not entirely fit, while relying on his potential to regain fitness in the ensuing weeks.
The alternate approach is to have Williamson on standby as a traveling reserve. However, for him to assume a role within the main squad, one of the initial members would need to incur an injury, allowing the 2019 ‘Player of the Tournament’ to step in.
