Kane Williamson Likely To Miss Home Test Series Against South Africa- Reports

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is reportedly said to miss the Test series against South Africa this month.

Williamson has been suffering from an elbow tendon injury for a long time, it also ruled him out for the second Test against India in Mumbai in December 2021.

Kane Williamson won’t be rushed for South Africa Tests- Reports

The 31-year-old also missed the two-Test matches played against Bangladesh at home last month, the series ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

According to a report by Stuff. co.NZ, it will be too early for the team management to rush Williamson in the two-Test series against South Africa. Latham, who has been leading the Black Caps in red-ball formats in Williamson’s absence, will once again lead the team against Proteas.

“The idea is to have no pain at all. In the past couple of times we’ve tried and maybe pushed him a bit early, so we’ve got to be particular around the programme,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said last month.

“I hope we can get to a stage where it will be like that, but there’s no guarantee and it’s something we’ve talked about. Kane may just have to adjust how he goes about preparing and maybe not having quite as extensive net sessions in preparation periods. That’s still something to be determined on how the elbow does shape up,” he added.

New Zealand have a 33.33 win percentage in WTC 2021-23 so far

New Zealand’s talisman player Ross Taylor retired from Test cricket after playing his final series against Bangladesh last month.

This would be the first time that the Black Caps would play a Test match without Williamson and Taylor since January 2008.

New Zealand are the current holders of the ICC World Test Championship after they defeated India by eight wickets in the WTC final in Southampton last year.

The Black Caps have won just one of their four matches in the new WTC cycle with a win percentage of 33.33%. New Zealand plays the first Test against South Africa at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, starting on February 17.

Also Read: 3 Indians Included, Kane Williamson Named Captain As ICC Announces Test Team Of The Year 2021