Kane Williamson’s absence from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s IPL 2021 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai struck a few. Speaking at the end of the game, where Hyderabad lost to Kolkata by 10 runs, head coach Trevor Bayliss explained why the Kiwi superstar didn’t feature in the first outing.
England wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow instead batted at No.4 and scored a fine half-century. However, it was not enough for Sunrisers Hyderabad to seal a win as they fell 10 runs short. The failure to push the scoring rate in the middle overs cost them the game. Speaking at the end of the game, Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Trevor Bayliss has revealed that New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson needs more time to get match fit.
Kane Williamson is yet to get match fit – Trevor Bayliss
Incidentally, Kane Williamson appeared to have nailed down a middle-order spot going into the new season after impressing in the role last year in the UAE. Bayliss also stated that the Kiwi skipper will come back in the calculations once the tournament unfolds.
“We just felt that Kane Williamson needed a little bit of extra time to get match fit and a little bit more time in the nets,” Bayliss said after the game. “He would have played in place of Jonny Bairstow obviously if that had occurred. But we aren’t too perturbed about that, Jonny has been in form recently in white-ball cricket here in India. Kane will obviously come into calculations as the tournament unfolds,” he added.
Meanwhile, needing 57 off 24 balls at one stage, SRH promoted Vijay Shankar ahead of big-hitter Abdul Samad – a move that drew flak from several quarters. While the experienced seam-bowling allrounder made only 11 from 7, Samad struck Pat Cummins for a couple of sixes in his short stay as SRH fell just 10 runs short. Trevor Bayliss reasoned that Vijay was promoted ahead of Samad due to his form in the practice games recently.
“Vijay in our practice matches that we had a few days ago was our best player,” Bayliss recalled. “He struck the ball beautifully and made 95 in one of the games, hit a lot of the balls long way over the fence. It’s always difficult in those situations whenever you go in you have to go pretty much from the first ball you face.
“Samad in a short space of time last IPL and this one has shown that he has a lot of talent and is a clean striker of the ball. I think as he gets more experience, he will get more opportunities,” he added.
