Former New Zealand pacer concerned about Kane Williamson’s fitness ahead of World Cup

The ICC World Cup is set to kick off next month and all participating teams are praying that their best members remain in shape by the time the first delivery of the tournament is bowled. Teams still are begetting injury scares ahead of the big event and one of them is New Zealand, the runners-up of the 2015 edition. Kane Williamson, the skipper, also their best batsman, suffered a serious shoulder injury during the home series against Bangladesh recently and former Kiwi bowler Simon Doull is worried about his fitness ahead of the WC.

The 29-year-old had a grade-one tear in his minor pectoral muscle during the second Test match in Wellington last month. He hasn’t played in two of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s three games in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 because of his injury. Last year, Williamson had stepped in as the Sunrisers’ skipper after David Warner was banned and he not only took them to the final but also ended up as the highest scorer in the series with over 700 runs.

Williamson re-injured himself, suspects Doull

Doull, who is working as a commentator for the IPL, said he suspected the New Zealand skipper injured himself in the first game and then re-injured himself.

“We were led to believe it would be 1-2 weeks minimum, but I don’t think it was nine days before he played for the Sunrisers. I saw him injure it again in that game – he couldn’t dive at all or stretch his left arm out. I’m not sure how he’s going to travel for the next game either,” Doull was quoted as saying by New Zealand’s Trackside Radio.

It’s not too far before NZ announce their World Cup announcement and Doull said it would be a major loss if Williamson failed to get fully fit in time.

“Obviously, he’s a crucial part of New Zealand’s World Cup set-up. I’d be pretty disappointed if he didn’t make sure he was 100 percent right before he had another crack. I would be concerned enough to say he needs another week-and-a-half to two weeks before he’s 100 percent right, because I don’t think he took the full two weeks,” he added.

New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka in their first match of the World Cup in Cardiff on June 1.

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