Rawalpindi: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson could travel with the team for the ODI World Cup later in the year in India as a mentor if he remains injured and unavailable to play the tournament.
At the same time, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead on Wednesday refused to rule Williamson out of the World Cup as a player just yet.
The 32-year old batter suffered an ACL injury on his right knee while attempting to take a catch during Gujarat Titans’ first match of the ongoing Indian Premier League. He returned home from India on crutches and subsequently underwent surgery, which was deemed a success.
Williamson’s knee is still in a brace as he undergoes rehab and racing against time to be fit for the World Cup.
“Look, it’s still far too early to know. He’s had the operation and, to date, what we know, that’s been successful. So he is in the very, very early stages of his rehab programme,” Stead said ahead of the five-match ODI series in Pakistan.
“It’s obviously pretty non-weight-bearing at this stage, and he’s in a brace. So, it’s really just meeting milestones as we go. Our line around Kane, at the moment, is still it’s unlikely that he will be available, but we certainly don’t want to rule out a person of his class and calibre, and the things he brings to this team, too early in case there is that chance still.
“Yeah, absolutely [would take him to India as a mentor],” he added.
The ODI World Cup is likely to start in October but the official itinerary is yet to be released. Usually, the ICC announces World Cup schedules at least a year in advance, but this time it has also been waiting for the BCCI to get the necessary clearances from the Indian government.
The wait for the schedule has somewhat disrupted New Zealand’s long-term planning.
“It [schedule] is not out yet, so there’s not much we can do about that. So it does keep our options reasonably open without knowing the venues and who we are playing at different venues,” Stead said.
“So, it does make it pretty difficult to finalise plans right now. But that again just gives players opportunities, that are within the squad now, to come out here [in Pakistan] and play for New Zealand,” he added.
