Photo Credit: BCCI
BLACKCAPS captain Kane Williamson will miss the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh as he rests and rehabilitates a troublesome left elbow injury.
Williamson has a small tear in his left-elbow tendon and had been experiencing irritation in the back-half of the summer.
NZC Medical Manager Dayle Shackel said it was clear the injury now needed targeted intervention.
“Kane’s been managing the elbow injury to varying degrees this summer and unfortunately it hasn’t improved,” Shackel said.
“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.”
BLACKCAPS coach Gary Stead said it was a blow to lose his captain for the three-game ODI series against Bangladesh, but knew it was the right call.
“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, and we want to make sure we have Kane fit and firing for that.
“We will certainly miss his class and leadership in the upcoming Bangladesh series, but his omission will no doubt present an opportunity for someone else when the ODI squad is named.”
The BLACKCAPS ODI squad will be released first thing on Thursday morning NZT.
The first ODI against Bangladesh is Saturday March 20 at the University of Otago Oval in Dunedin.
The New Zealand national cricket team, known as the Black Caps, made their Test debut in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth nation to play Test cricket. After waiting 26 years for their first Test win against the West Indies in 1956, they also played their first ODI in 1972–73 against Pakistan. New Zealand are the inaugural World Test Championship champions (2021) and have won the ICC Champions Trophy (2000). They have reached the Cricket World Cup final twice and the T20 World Cup final once.
