Kane Williamson, the captain of the New Zealand team playing a Twenty20 international series against Pakistan, will not be playing in the final three games, the organization confirmed on Tuesday. Following his team’s 21-run triumph in Hamilton on Sunday, Williamson was forced to retire due to a hamstring injury. The 33-year-old had a scan on Monday following the hamstring issue. Williamson will now miss the remainder of the T20I series, as he was always scheduled to miss the third 20-over match on Wednesday. For the remaining three games, he will be replaced by right-handed hitter Will Young.
After experiencing discomfort in his right hamstring on Sunday, the Kiwi captain had to leave the game with a score of 26. “It’s the same leg as what his knee injury was on,” New Zealand’s coach Gary Stead was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “He left for his home in Tauranga. Today, he will have a scan. I don’t currently have any additional updates unless I learn more about the scan. For this [episode] of the series, Will Young was going to be on the squad regardless. Kane was not coming along. “I believe it’s likely that Will will stay on, but we can’t make a decision until we receive the scan results from Kane,” he continued.
“I don’t think he’s going to play. When asked if Williamson would play in the final Twenty20 Internationals, Stead responded, “I mean, with Test matches so close as well and probably in the big scheme of things in the short term for us has higher priority then I think it’s likely we’ll try and make sure that he’s right for that.” Three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) between the Kiwis and Australians are planned. Trent Boult, the great pacer, is not guaranteed to be available, according to Stead. “We’ve made a few attempts to catch up, but we haven’t been successful. Later on, we’ll figure that out. I still need to figure it out because I don’t know what his obligations are at that particular moment,” Stead stated.
