New Zealand's white-ball skipper Kane Williamson had a bad end to his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season after he suffered a knee injury during the Gujarat Titans' (GT) opening Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, March 31.
The incident took place in the 13th over of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) innings. IPL debutant and Irish pacer Joshua Little bowled a slower-length ball. CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad flicked it towards the mid-wicket boundary where Williamson was standing.
Williamson jumped in the air and caught the ball. As he was bound to go over the boundary, he flicked it back into the field before touching the boundary ropes. Williamson landed on his right knee and immediately collapsed on the ground clutching his knee and got medical attention as the GT physios rushed to their overseas recruit’s aid.
The 32-year-old managed to save two runs for his side but he could not take the field during CSK’s innings. The physios helped him get to the dugout.
He was immediately sent for scans and eventually, they found it best to send the player home. New Zealand Cricket in a statement confirmed the developments and said that Williamson was being flown back to the country for further assessments.
"Following his release from the Gujarat Titans with a knee injury, Kane Williamson will return to NZ to have the injury further assessed. Preparations are now underway for him to return to NZ next week and be seen by relevant medical specialists to establish a treatment plan," New Zealand Cricket said in a statement.
Gujarat released a video of Williamson in the early hours of Monday confirming that the player was flying out.
"Sad to be leaving so soon. I will miss the camp for sure. See you soon," Williamson said in the video.
"Just wanna wish the Gujarat Titans team all the best for the remainder of the season. Wish I could have been there with you all but not to be. And I also want to thank the fans for all their love support and I look forward to a speedy recovery. Thank you," he concluded before getting into his transport.
The injury comes to the New Zealand camp at the most inopportune moment, with the star batter in fine form in Test cricket heading into the Indian Premier League. To put it into context, he has a double century and two centuries in his last three matches in the longest format of the game.
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