Kane Williamson needs extra time to get match fit: SRH head coach Trevor Bayliss

Trevor Bayliss, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach, has revealed that Kane Williamson needs some more time to get match fit before he takes the field in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). The Tauranga-born Williamson, earlier, missed out on the Kiwis’ home series against Bangladesh after he sustained a small tear in his left-elbow tendon that was causing him irritation.

Kane didn’t play SRH’s opening game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Bayliss stated that had Kane been fit, he would have been included in place of Jonny Bairstow. But the SRH coach also had words of praises for Bairstow, who not only scored a 44-ball 61 in the last game, but was also in good form in the series against India.

Kane Williamson would have played in place of Jonny Bairstow: Bayliss

“We just felt that Kane needed a little bit of extra time to get match fit and a little bit more time in the nets. He would have played in place of Jonny Bairstow obviously if that had occurred. But we aren’t too perturbed about that, Jonny has been in form recently in white-ball cricket here in India. Kane will obviously come into calculations as the tournament unfolds,” Bayliss said after the game.

However, Bairstow batted at number four as the Orange Army chose Wriddhiman Saha to open the batting along with skipper David Warner. The move didn’t pay off as Saha perished after scoring only seven runs. Bayliss was clear cut in saying that the Sunrisers management is focussed on rewarding the players, who helped the team make the playoffs last season.

“At the moment what we wanted to do is reward the guys who finished the tournament last year. We got off to a slow start last tournament but came back well to reach the finals (playoffs). Someone like Saha opening and batting so well in that tournament we felt we should reward the guys who finished it so well for us last year,” he added.

SRH started their campaign with a 10-run loss to Eoin Morgan’s Knights. Their next IPL match is against the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 14 at the Chepauk itself.