New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been ruled out of next week’s Cricket World Cup opener against England, despite making his return from injury on Friday.
Williamson has been sidelined since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at the Indian Premier League (IPL) in late March, an injury which at the time looked likely to rule him out of the World Cup entirely.
However, the 33-year-old has made good progress in his recovery and was with the Black Caps during their recent tour of England.
He is due to play as a specialist batter in Friday’s warm-up match against Pakistan and, all being well, will do likewise against South Africa on Monday.
However, New Zealand are taking a cautious approach and will not expose their star man to the full intensity of competitive action in Thursday’s repeat of the 2019 final in Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile, England’s men’s performance director Mo Bobat is to leave the ECB in February to become director of cricket at IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Managing director Rob Key said: “All anyone ever wants is to have an impact in whatever they do, and Mo can look back and see that he's not only impacted English cricket but impacted England cricketers. I wish him all the best.”
