Injured Kane Williamson likely to travel to India for ODI World Cup as team mentor

Kane Williamson (C) is helped by teammates back to Pavillion after he was injured during IPL 2023 opener (Pic: AFP)

New Zealand white-ball captain Kane Williamson may travel to India despite his unavailability at the ODI World Cup later this year. As per a PTI report, the injured batter is likely to travel to India for the marquee event as a team mentor. Head coach Gary Stead said he would 'absolutely' look to use the experienced batter and limited-overs skipper in a mentor-type role.

The Gujarat Titans batsman is in rehab after undergoing successful surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee. Williamson had suffered the injury while fielding in his debut game for the franchise in the Indian Premier League last month. Attempting to stop a six at the boundary, the 32-year-old had jumped high and landed awkwardly, injuring his knee. Such was the severity of the injury that he had to be carried out off the field.

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"It's still far too early to know. He's had the operation and, to date, what we know, that's been successful. So he is in the very, very early stages of his rehab programme," Stead told reporters ahead of New Zealand's five-match ODI series against Pakistan. "It's obviously pretty non-weight-bearing at this stage, and he's in a brace. It's really just meeting milestones as we go."

The injury has been all but ruled him out from the 50-over tournament, starting in October as the expected recovery time of an ACL rupture is nine months. However, Stead is still optimistic.

"Our line around Kane, at the moment, is still it's unlikely that he will be available, but we certainly don't want to rule out a person of his class and calibre, and the things he brings to this team, too early in case there is that chance still."