Star New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson was on Sunday ruled out of the rest of the Indian Premier League season with a knee injury, in a major blow to defending champions the Gujarat Titans.
“It is sad to lose Kane to injury so early in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery, with the hope of seeing him in action very soon,” Gujarat director of cricket Vikram Solanki said.
“Williamson will now head home to New Zealand for further assessment. The Gujarat Titans will finalise a replacement for the right-handed batter and an announcement will be made in due course,” a statement added.
Williamson jarred his knee attempting a catch in the opening game of the current IPL on Friday between Gujarat and Chennai Super Kings in front of more than 100,000 fans in Ahmedabad.
Williamson landed awkwardly with his knee taking his body weight as he fell to the ground in the 13th over of the Chennai innings.
The 32-year-old New Zealand captain tried to get up but couldn’t, and had to be helped off the field by two physios.
“Preparations are now underway for him to return to New Zealand next week and be seen by relevant medical specialists to establish a treatment plan,” New Zealand Cricket said in a statement.
– Fairytale –
Williamson’s exit after just one match of the big-bucks IPL is a blow to Gujarat as they seek to successfully defend their title after a fairytale debut season in 2022.
Williamson last year had a dismal previous season with Sunrisers Hyderabad where he managed just 216 runs in 13 matches and was later released by the franchise.
Gujarat brought the top-order batsman for $243,000 ahead of this year’s season after the batsman recently recovered from a long-troubling elbow injury.
Other foreign players at Gujarat include South African big hitter David Miller, Australian Matthew Wade, Afghan spin wizard Rashid Khan, West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith and Irish bowler Joshua Little.
Led by Hardik Pandya, Gujarat won the opening game in the world’s largest cricket stadium against Chennai, captained by MS Dhoni and featuring England star Ben Stokes, by five wickets.
Substitute Sai Sudharsan replaced Williamson in the match under the new “impact player” rule, one of several innovations in the 16th edition of the T20 tournament that runs until the end of May.
Other big stars missing this season include England batsman Jonny Bairstow at Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant and Mumbai Indians fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
Kiwi fast bowler Adam Milne had suffered a similar fate like Williamson last year when he bowed out of the money-spinning IPL after a hamstring injury in his first match for Chennai.
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