IPL 2019: SRH’s Kane Williamson returns home under unfortunate circumstances

Prior to their upcoming encounter against the might of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have lost their skipper Kane Williamson, who has returned home New Zealand due to a personal tragedy. The Sunrisers are in the middle of the table in this edition’s Indian Premier League (IPL) with five victories from nine matches.

However, the Orange Army has emerged victorious in their last two matches and have momentum on their side. Their upcoming encounter is scheduled today against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Previously, SRH beat the Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad and the franchise would be keen to make it two out of two against MS Dhoni’s men.

Not much to do for Kane thus far

As far as Kane is concerned, he would be back for the SRH team for the match against the Steve Smith-captained Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 27 as per reports in Sportstar. In his absence, fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar is likely to lead the side. Previously, the Kiwi captain couldn’t play a few matches as he came into the T20 tournament owing to a back injury that he sustained earlier.

The 28-year-old from Tauranga hasn’t had much to do as he has only scored 28 runs from four matches at an average of 9.33 with a strike-rate of 87.50. The opening duo of Jonny Bairstow and David Warner has been absolutely devastating, having notched as many as four century partnerships, making things easier for the men batting lower down the order.

Warner and Bairstow won’t be there for the Sunrisers for the entire IPL 2019 as they will be busy preparing for the upcoming World Cup set to start on May 30. In their absence, the onus will be on Williamson to shepherd the team with all his experience. He was SRH’s highest-run scorer last season.

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