New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson suffered an undisplaced fracture to his left thumb during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh on Friday, October 13 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, confirmed the X-ray report. Wicket-keeper batter Tom Blundell has been called in as a cover for the veteran batter.
Kane Williamson was struck by a throw while running between the wickets against Bangladesh. The New Zealand Cricket (NZC) board released a statement confirming that the right-handed batter has suffered a fracture. The management is hopeful that Williamson will be back for the back end of the tournament. Tom Blundell will travel to India as cover. However, he will not officially be part of the squad.
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Kane Williamson made his return to the New Zealand squad for the ICC ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh. He missed the first two games as he was recovering from a knee injury sustained during IPL 2023. The Kiwi skipper played a crucial knock against Bangladesh as he scored 78 runs before getting retired hurt.
Coach Gary Stead is optimistic about Williamson’s return during the end stages of the tournament. He said in the statement,
“Firstly, we’re all feeling for Kane to have this occur after all his hard work to return from his knee injury.”
“While it’s disappointing news, the initial diagnosis has given us some optimism he can still feature later in the pool play following a period of rest and rehabilitation. Kane is clearly a massive part of our side and a world-class player and captain – so we’ll look to give him every opportunity we can to return in the tournament,” he added.
Gary Stead explains the decision to select Tom Blundell as Kane Williamson’s cover
Gary Stead expressed Tom Blundell has been preferred to join the squad as a cover for his versatility. The wicket-keeper batter has been in decent form this year. He has scored 206 runs in seven matches, at an average of 41.20, including two fifties. A call on his inclusion will be taken after assessing Williamson’s recovery during the later part of the tournament.
“Tom’s been with the one-day side on tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh and performed well. He covers multiple positions in the batting order and his wicket-keeping skills are also an added bonus as a back-up,” said Gary Stead.
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